by Leona
Disclaimer: The characters and situations of the TV program
"Big Valley" are the creations of Four Star/Republic Pictures and
have been used without permission. No
copyright infringement is intended by the author. The ideas expressed in this story are copyrighted to the author.
The next week was Leah’s third birthday. They had some children come over to help her
celebrate her birthday and play for the day.
She had a great time with all her guests, having a tea party. She received lots of presents, including
dishes, dolls, clothes and books.
Janine gave her a special brooch that her mother had given her and some
ribbons for her hair.
Heath came in at his usual time from working out in the
barn. He opened the door and surveyed
the room. There were a lot of children
milling about. “Well what’s this?” He asked as Leah came running over to
him. “ya have a lot of friends here
today. Why is that?” Heath smiled at
his daughter.
“Papa! Din’t you know its me birfday?” He feigned shock as he shook his head
no.
“I was wonderin’ why there was a gift outside.” He teased her. She squealed as Heath picked her up. Janine and the others followed him outside as he led her towards
the barn. Inside was a beautiful
chestnut pony with a white mane and a star upon her forehead.
Leah gasped, “For me?”
Heath nodded. “It is yours and with that present comes
responsibility. Ya must exercise her
everyday and keep her stall clean plus food and water.”
“K Papa. Ride me?”
Heath nodded, “I will teach you to ride, Lil One.”
“Oh goody!” She clasped her hands together. “Ride me now, Papa?” He lifted her up onto
the pony and gave her a short ride around the barn yard. Then he gave all the other children rides.
Soon it was time for the other children to go back home. Heath and Nick volunteered to take the
children home while the others helped clean up the mess inside the house.
Leah took all her gifts upstairs and looked at them all.
She put them all neatly on her chair and table. Janine came in to tell her she was going to lie down for a
while. “That looks very nice
Sweetheart. Did you have a nice
birthday?”
“Yeah! Wike
pony! Need name tho.”
“Yes your pony needs a name. Can’t keep calling him pony
can ya?”
“Yeah Mama. Think somethin’ me.” she said.
“K Leah. I’m going to lie down,” yawned Janine. “Go
downstairs and tell papa. Babies need
feeding I think.”
“K Mama. Wove you”
“Love you too, Sweetheart.” She walked out of her daughter’s room and into her room, her back
hurting from being on her feet too long. She cried herself to sleep, silently
praying that the pain would subside.
She woke up a while later, bathed in sweat. The pain was worse then before. She lied
there thinking about what to do. She could hardly move because of the
pain. The tears ran down her face as
another wave of pain washed over her.
She almost cried out but bit her lip instead. I’m such an birdbrain, she thought. Why oh why didn’t I listen to them. They knew what was good for me and I didn’t listen. Tears streamed down her face as she waited
for Heath to come check on her.
Heath did come after a while to find his wife in
tears. “Go get Dr. Merar please Heath.”
she struggled as another wave of pain washed over her. He nodded, backing out
of the bedroom and asked Victoria to go tend to Janine. Heath then asked Nick to go for the doctor.
Nick nodded, kissed Chelsea and headed off into the darkness.
Heath went racing up the stairs to tend to his wife, who
was trying hard to keep the tears from coming but not having much luck. “Oh Heath!
I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” He
grasped her hand and wiped her brow with a cold cloth.
“shhhhh….its ok Janey.
Just relax. Dr. Merar will be here
soon. Everythin’ will be fine.” He hoped he sounded better then he
felt. Truth was, he was scared, very
scared. He glanced at Victoria who was
barking orders at Jenny to get some hot water and some towels. He caressed her cheek and wiped her brow, all
the time trying to keep their minds off
what was happening. He felt her relaxing and almost falling asleep. Then she woke up again about ten minutes
later. She grasped Heath’s hand in a
vise like grip. Then it was over again
and she relaxed.
Victoria motioned to Heath to join him in the
hallway. “You relax Janine, Heath and I
will be right back. Jenny will be right
here if you need something.” She nodded
to show she understood and closed her eyes.
Out in the hallway, Victoria spoke in quiet tones, “I’m
not sure what’s happening here, Heath. I don’t want to frighten you but it
looks like she is bleeding. I am hoping
that she isn’t…... Oh, Heath. Be strong.
She needs you.” Victoria hugged
him to her then disappeared back into the bedroom. Heath didn’t know what to say, so he just stood in the hall, with
tears in his eyes. It can’t be happening again, he cried to himself. It can’t be! He steeled himself when he heard a door open. Leah came out and padded down the hall
towards him. He sat on the settee that
was in the hall and pulled Leah into his lap.
“Leah I need you to be a big girl and sit downstairs with
Aunt Chelsea and Uncle Jarrod. Mama is
not feelin’ well and needs the doctor.
Can ya do that for me?” Leah’s blue eyes were big with fright. “Don’t worry Leah, she’ll be fine. I just need ya to go downstairs and make
sure your brothers are all right, k?”
“Mama sick? She be
ok?” Heath nodded, afraid to speak
again.
He cleared his throat and told her to go. “I’m gonna stay
with Mama. Be a good girl, k and help
Aunt Chelsea?”
“Yes Papa. I be
good.” She hugged him and kissed his tear stained cheek. “Tell Mama wove you, k?”
“Will do, Lil One.
Now be off with ya.” She jumped off his lap and looked forlornly at
him. “It’ll be all right. Go now.” She nodded and went slowly down the stairs,
very worried about her mother.
Nick came in a while later, and led the doctor up the
stairs to Heath’s old room. He saw the
white face of Janine and the pursed lips of his brother. He tried to get Heath to leave the room but
he wouldn’t leave and Janine didn’t want him to leave. She had his hand in a grip that looked like
a death grip. Nick left the room, saddened
by the sight, but determined to look after his niece and nephews till they could.
Heath went back tending to his wife, wiping her brow and
talking softly about anything and everything to her. He needed to do this to keep themselves calm. Howard looked at her but didn’t show any
emotion, he checked her over and called Heath out to the hall. He kissed her forehead and told her that he
would be right back. Out in the hall,
the family friend and doctor told him, “She is very close to losing the baby. If she stays in bed and I mean in bed, she
still has a chance of carrying the baby full term. This is real important Heath!
Watch her closely tonight, I think the worst of the pain is over, but
for the next two weeks she must rest. Oh and I should tell you, when I was
examining her, I heard two heartbeats.”
Heath looked at him, “T-t-t-two?”
Dr. Merar smiled weakly at the nervous cowboy. “Just make
sure she doesn’t move from that bed unless its to go to the water closet.” Heath nodded. “She’ll be fine Heath as long as she rests.” Howard put his large clean hand on Heath’s
shoulder as a gesture of sympathy and friendliness. Heath thanked him and walked him to the door.
Leah sleepily went to her father and held up her arms to
be picked up. “Mama ok?”
“Yes Leah, Mama be ok.
Ya should go to bed now and ya can see her in the mornin’.”
“K Papa. Night
Unca Nick, Unca Jarrod, Aunt Chelly.
Wove you.” They came over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Nick tousled
her blond curls.
“See ya in the morning, niece. I’ll help ya with your pony.”
“Thank ya Unca Nick.
Her name is Star.” With that
Heath took her to her room and tucked her in. “Night Papa. Tell Mama, wove you.”
“I will Lil One.
Go to sleep now. I’ll come by in
a little while and check on you.”
K papa. Wove you.”
“Love ya too. Night.”
He turned the lamp down and left the door ajar. He walked over to the babies’ room and
checked on them. They were sleeping
peacefully, unaware of their mother’s distress.
Nick and Chelsea went to bed soon after, tired of the days
events. What an exciting day it had been, with Leah’s birthday and now with
Janine’s troubles with the baby.
Chelsea lay in the darkness, thinking about Janine. She always had qualms about having babies
and now this just confirmed her fears. She knew that Janine had lost a baby
before, and that Leah was born early,
but she never witnessed anything up close.
She was not only afraid of bringing up a baby, but afraid of carrying
the baby. She snuggled closer to her
sleeping husband, and draped her arm around his waist. She kissed his smooth back, trying to calm
her fears and wondering how to tell her handsome husband about her fears. She
closed her eyes and willed sleep to come.
She loved Nick and all the excitement he brought to her. She loved his touches and the way he made
her feel, she simply melted whenever he looked at her. She knew she should have discussed her fears
with Nick before they got married, but she hadn’t the courage. With these thoughts in mind, she fell into a
fitful sleep. Nick turned over and held her to him, sleeping soundly, blissfully
unaware of his wife’s struggles.
Jarrod and Jenny lay in bed, discussing the day’s
events. They held each other as they
thought about Heath and Janine’s almost tragedy. Jenny kept her thoughts to herself, glad that nothing had
happened during her confinement. She
hated to see anybody in pain and seeing someone this close in this family,
suffering like her sister in law, made her rethink her values. The Chinese put
strong values on family, having many extended members living in the same house and
learning from all of them. Jenny had
never seen anything like this up close, although she knew things like this
happened to some people, it scared her to know that a friend of hers was going
through all this. Not a friend, she
thought, but her sister. She told
Jarrod that she would what she could to help Janine during this difficult
time. He knew she would, she was a
lover of people, and enjoyed helping
others. Jarrod held his wife close as they willed sleep to come. Jarrod hoped that things would be better in
the morning.
Heath crawled into bed with his wife, careful not to
disturb her. He hated seeing her this
way, it pained him to see her in agony.
He didn’t know what to do to help her, but he would try to make her as
comfortable as he possibly could. She groaned as she turned onto her back. She opened her eyes to find the lamp still
on and her husband’s pained blue eyes watching her. She raised her hand to caress his cheek. “I’ll be okay husband. I am sorry that I over did it today. I will be good and listen to the doctor.”
She whispered hoarsely to him. He nodded, the tears welling up in his
eyes. “I’m such a dunce sometimes,
wanting my own way and never listening to what’s good for me. Maybe I should start now?” she smiled at him through her tired eyes and
closed them as a slight pain wave hit her.
“I love you Heath Barkley. You
are the best thing to ever happen to me.”
Heath watched as his beloved wife went through a little
more pain. “I love ya too my
pretty. Ya scared me tonight
Janey.” she held out her arms and they
both held each other, not wanting to think of what might have happened.
“Janey?”
“Ya know what Howard told me?”
“No. What?” She was so tired, and waves of pain washed
over her, but not as severe as before. She heard the concern in his voice.
“What is it, Heath? Is it bad?”
“No, my pretty, not really.”
“Well what did he say? Heath Barkley, you’d better tell
me! You’re scaring me”
He kissed her then said, “He heard two heartbeats, Janey.”
“T-t-two?” Heath
nodded. “Oh my goodness! Two? We’re having TWINS?”
“I reckon so. That
means you have to be extra careful Janey.”
She nodded slowly, amazed at the thought. She closed her eyes and
snuggled into Heath’s loving arms. What
a day this has turned into, she thought as sleep claimed them both. Throughout
the night she woke up groaning and Heath held her as another small wave of pain
washed over her.
The next few days passed in a blur for everyone especially
for Heath and Janine. Heath spent time with Leah, making sure she knew how to
take good care of her pony. He took her
for short rides as well as helping around the ranch but not wandering too far
away in case he was needed. He was still frightened but as was his way, he
wouldn’t let anyone know. Victoria
watched her stepson with trepidation.
She knew he was worried as she saw how hard he pushed himself to do the
work of both him and his wife.
She walked out towards him intent on talking to him.
“T….Heath” Heath turned around and saw
Victoria looking at him. “Are you all
right, son?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing Mother.” He
searched her face for an answer, and waited.
“I’m fine. I’m
worried about you Heath. Do you want to
talk about it?” He eyed her, and shook his head. “Okay Heath. But you
shouldn’t work so hard, you’re going to make yourself sick.” He smiled at her, then kissed her cheek.
“I’ll be all right.
Janey’s gotta stay in bed and I’m just helpin’ out.” Victoria
nodded. “Mother, I gotta ask. Are ya
all right. Twice now you called me
Tom. Why?”
“I did? Must be
because I’ve been thinking of him a lot lately. Not to worry Sweetheart.
I won’t do it again.” She turned
to go in the house, sweeping the ground as she left. He smiled in admiration after her. How he was glad that she was
his step mother. So much like his own
beloved mother, he thought wistfully. She would have been so proud of his wife
and children. He watched as Leah led
Star around the corral, talking silently to her pony. A born horsewoman, he thought, have to tell Janey about the
wonder that was their daughter.
Upstairs, lying in her room, Janine was getting
frustrated. She hated lying around and
she wasn’t shy about letting people know her feelings. David was learning how to walk now and was
getting into everything. Freddy cried a
lot now, and was starting to get on her nerves. She just wanted to cry
herself. This is not fair she
complained quietly to the air. There was a knock on the door so she wiped her
eyes and called “come in!”
The door opened, “Are you up to company?” asked a very
girlish voice.
“Audra! Come in
and sit down! I could do with some
company. I’m so bored!”
Audra laughed and pulled up a chair. David came up to her and wanted to be picked up. “Well hello there Davey.
I see you’re up and running around these days. Janey, how do you do it?”
“I don’t. Can’t ya
see? He’s been everywhere. Heath makes sure everything is up before he
leaves and Victoria comes in every now and again to bring food and
bottles. Driving me nuts. No one will let me do anything!” Audra
watched as her good friend gave in to her tears. “Oh will you look at me!
Cheer me up Audra. Ya didn’t
come to see me weep I am sure!” Audra
smiled and patted her belly. “How are
ya feelin’ Audra? Feel the baby move
yet?”
“Janey I have! Its
a wonderful feeling. He is always
moving now. Won’t let me sleep at
night.” Janine smiled and nodded. “I
don’t like being fat though.”
“Me neither. I’ll
just be glad when I can get out of this bed and have the baby outside in my
arms.”
“Janey, I’m so sorry I wasn’t here when you were having
all the problems. I feel so bad.” Audra worried for her friend. Life wouldn’t be the same without Janine in
it. They were a lot a like with the
same kind of high spirits that often got themselves into trouble. The other
wives shook their heads when the two of them got together because of all the
giggling and carrying on they did. The
brothers have learned to stay away when they were together because they were
often the object of their hijinks.
“Its okay Audra.
You have to rest too. You need
to bring us a beautiful baby to add to this already large family. If I wasn’t
so stupid and not over do it on the birthdays I wouldn’t have to be here
now.” She felt better after spilling
out what was bothering her.
“I’m gonna start coming over more often. You can’t be
lying around bored all the time. You
need help with the babies. Any word on
a nanny yet?”
“Not yet Audra. We wrote a letter to Mama and Papa to see
if they can find us one there. I wish Jemmy was still here. She was my nanny. She was wonderful. Always
answered all my questions, kept in line most times. I was a little monster though. Then when I ran off to be married
to Gary, she left my parents house and went to be a nanny elsewhere. I sure miss her.”
Audra heard the wistful tone in her voice. She let David down and let him run around
while they gossiped some more about Audra’s life as a rancher’s wife, about the
newest fashions and their husbands.
They were laughing so hard they didn’t hear the door open. Heath watched as Audra and Janine laughed
over some crazy stunt one or the other had pulled on one of their
brothers. “I reckon ya two have jawed
enough about us. What are ya cookin’ up
this time?” Janine looked up startled
to see her husband leaning against the door, his white hat pushed high on his
head. He took it off and held it in his
hand. “Audra, Fred is here and is
waiting for ya down in the parlour. I
hope ya haven’t done anything to my stuff.”
The girls looked at each and laughed heartily at the slightly amused
Heath.
Audra rose from the comfortable chair and placed Freddy in
Janine’s arms. “I’ll see you
tomorrow. Can’t have you bored every
day can we? I have a great idea for
us.” She looked at Heath. “It doesn’t
involve you Big Brother.” Heath looked relieved, he wasn’t quite up to their
games just yet.
After Audra left, Heath picked up David just as he was
getting into the armoire, playing with Heath’s boots. “I don’t think ya want to play with those, Davey. They are powerful dirty.” He gently took the
boots away and let him play with his hat.
Janine watched him as he cleaned up.
She crawled out of bed and stood behind him, washing the dirt off his
back. “Ya aren’t supposed to be out
of bed Janey.” He admonished her
quietly.
“I know. But I
have been good all day. Well maybe…I
did stay in bed all day. I am just so
bored. How was Leah?” Heath looked at their reflection in the
mirror. He was tanned golden from the
sun, she a little paler but looked much better then just a few days ago. He pulled her in front of him and kissed her
just as David pulled on his pant leg, wanting up. Freddy cried as well and Janine pulled angrily away from her
husband.
She sat on the bed, tears rolling down her cheeks. She could not take the crying anymore. She crawled under the blankets and pulled
them over her head. Heath did not know
what to make of this and tried his best to calm the screaming baby while
keeping an eye out for David who had disappeared from sight. There was a knock on the door, and Chelsea took Freddy out of the room while
Victoria took David. They left the room leaving a bewildered Heath and his
crying wife.
He went over to the bed and crawled under the blankets
with her. He held her as she cried and
kissed her hair. She pushed out of his
arms and glared at him. “I’m so tired
of lying here Heath! I am tired of
screaming children! I’m so tired
of you!” She spat out and he lay there, stunned. Never had she screamed
out such anger at him. They had always
curbed the anger before it got too far.
Well now it had and he had no clue on how to stop the anger. “GET OUT NOW!” Heath got up out of the bed.
She threw a pillow at him and yelled, “GO AWAY!” Then she sobbed into the other pillow as
Heath backed out the door and down the stairs.
Heath looked at his family sitting around the fireplace,
waiting for them to come down for dinner.
He didn’t say a word to anyone, just walked out the door, heading out
towards the barn. He was saddling
Charger when Nick came out to talk to him.
“Heath what happened?” the
cowboy turned to face his brother, the look on Heath’s face was
indescribable. His eyes mirrored hurt,
anger, confusion that he was feeling deep inside. “Heath? Are ya all
right?” Heath nodded slowly.
“Yeah Nick. I need
to get away for a bit.” Nick put his callused hand on his younger brother’s
shoulder. “I’ll be okay Nick. I just need to go have a beer. I’ll be back, don’t worry.”
“K Heath.. Do ya want me to come with ya for
company?” Heath didn’t say anything
as Nick saddled up Coco. Nick knew Heath wouldn’t answer him but he would
allow him to go along. They mounted
their horses and started off towards town each deep into their own thoughts. Nick knew enough not to speak to Heath until
he was good and ready but he wanted to be with him in case he wanted to talk.
Janine sobbed into her pillow and didn’t hear the knock on
her door. The door opened as Victoria
swept into the room bringing with her an air of authority. “Janine!” The
sobbing woman was startled and wiped her eyes. Victoria felt sympathetic
towards her daughter-in-law but steeled herself . She sat down on the edge of the bed and took her hand. “What’s wrong, Sweetheart?”
“Oh Victoria! I
don’t know. Freddy been crying all day,
Davey is into everything. I just can’t
take it anymore! I got mad at
Heath.” This started her sobbing all
over again. “I can’t just get up and
deal with it!” she sobbed. Victoria
reached over and caressed her wavy hair, sighing.
“Janine! Don’t you
think it’s about time you quit feeling sorry for yourself? You’re a good, strong woman. I can’t say
that I know that what you’re feeling but you got to get hold of yourself.”
Janine looked at Victoria dumbfounded.
She had never spoken this way to her before, and Janine didn’t know what
to do so she sat and listened. “Why did
Heath leave?”
Janine sniffled as her eyes filled with tears. “he left
because I told him to.”
Victoria sighed, “Why did you do that?”
“I am so frustrated, bored, annoyed. Everything he does lately annoys me. I hate him hovering over me all the time. I
don’t want to be coddled. No…that’s not
what I meant. Oh Gee! I don’t know what I want!”
“Men have a way of being too over protective when it comes
to women and their babies. You have it
rough I know and Heath feels it too.
Don’t you think he is worried too?”
“Yeah I suppose he is.
But I don’t want him mollycoddling me all the time! Its annoying. Always asking me if I’m ok.
Always trying to convince me to stay in bed. I hate it!” She spat out
viciously. “I hate it that everyone
asks me how I’m feelin! I hate that I
have three kids to look after while I’m in bed! I hate not having my mother here!”
Victoria saw the root of her problem. “You miss your mother, don’t you?” Janine nodded. “How about if I send a telegram to your parents asking them to come
out? They can stay here.”
“Oh could they, Victoria?
I really want my mother. I feel
like a baby wanting my mama, but I need her.”
Victoria patted her hand, reassuringly.
“I’ll do it first thing in the morning, Janey. But you
need to talk to Heath and get your feelings sorted out.”
“Where did Heath go?
Is he downstairs?”
“No Sweetheart. He
left the house with Nick.”
“Where did he go?
He didn’t actually leave did he?”
“I’m sure he didn’t.” she tried to sound reassuring but
she felt nothing but reassuring. Heath was hurt and angry, and he would be back
when he was good and ready. “We will
look after the children for you. You
try to rest and I’ll look in on you a little later.”
“Thanks Victoria.
I’m sorry I’m such a pain. I
feel horrible and feel like I’m using you.
I hate this feeling!”
“You’re not using us.
We are family and we stand together, through good and through the
bad. Through sickness and in
health. That almost sounds like a
marriage vow. Maybe you should try to
remember that.” She smiled. “I love you Janine. You brought a lot of
happiness to Heath’s life. You are very
good to this family. Don’t ever feel bad about being who you are. We all love you.”
Janine reached out her arms and hugged her
mother-in-law. “Thank you
Victoria. You all mean a lot to me as
well.” Janine laid back on her pillow, thinking about her attitude lately, it
had been self pitying and mean. She
meant to resolve that and try to be more accepting of her situation. If she kept on the way she was acting, she
would lose all that was precious to her, her husband and family. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, this
time the tears were not for herself, but for the others which she had caused so
much pain.
Heath and Nick reached the saloon about an hour
later. They paraded in through the
wooden swinging doors and ordered drinks.
Heath sat down at the nearest table which had a poker game
happening. Nick sat beside him and they
were dealt in to the game. After a few hands and a pitcher of beer, Heath had
enough. He had won fifty dollars and
was pleased with himself. Nick fared
just as well and followed his brother out of the saloon and leaped up on their
mounts.
“You know Nick,” started Heath as they rode out of town
towards the ranch. “Wives are wonderful
to have.” Nick glanced at his brother
who was staring straight ahead. “They
can also be the moodiest of all creatures ever!” Nick pulled the reins on Coco
and stopped. Heath did the same but
stayed on Charger, still looking straight ahead, no emotions coming forth from
the man.
“Heath?” He didn’t
acknowledge Nick. He just sat on
Charger and continued talking.
“She is beautiful, kind, and loving. She is my life and joy Nick. I can’t imagine my life without her. She is a great mother, and a great
wife. But boy howdy! She is moody. I can’t take much more! She cries at everything, gets mad at me for nothing. I tried being patient with her! I did.
Tonight was the worst. The baby started crying and so did she. I just wanted to cry myself. Then she screamed at me to leave.” He turned to Nick, his emotions out in the
open.
Nick was struck by
the awesome power of Heath’s emotional distress. He gauged his words carefully as he spoke. “Heath, does she know
how you feel? I mean really feel?” Heath shook his head. “Well little brother don’t you think its
time you two talked to each other. I
mean really talked. You can’t go on
like this.” Heath nodded, agreeing full heartedly with Nick. He directed Coco closer to Heath then placed
his large hand on his shoulder. “You
two love each other, please talk to her.
You will lose her if this keeps on, Heath.”
Heath thought about what his brother had to say, realizing
he was right. They talked but not about
what was really bothering them. “Thank you Nick. Let’s go home. I need to
do me some talking.”
Nick chuckled, “You’d better listen too little brother.” Heath smiled and galloped off to the house,
arriving there in record time. Heath jumped off Charger and had him unsaddled
and curried quickly. Heath had a bounce
to his step as he went about his business.
Nick smiled as he watched his brother. Isn’t love wonderful? He asked himself as he unsaddled Coco.
Heath threw open the front door and found that everyone
was waiting with bated breath for his return.
He didn’t say much to them, just nodded his head and ran up the stairs
two at a time. He gulped as he slowly
opened the door and found that his wife was sleeping. How peaceful she looks, he mused as he removed his boots and laid
on the bed beside her. She moved towards him, automatically in her sleep, and groaned
when he kissed her cheek. “Janey?” he
whispered in her ear. He nibbled on her ear lightly, making her smile.
“Heath?” she asked sleepily.
“Who else would it be nibblin’ on your ear?” He asked her.
“Prince Charming.” She answered, stretching and yawning.
“Aren’t I your Prince Charming?” He asked kissing her
awake. She shook her head. “What? I’m
hurt. I’m goin’ now!” He sat up just as her feminine hand touched
his arm and pulled him back. She drew
him closer, kissing his neck, face, lips hungrily.
“I’m sorry Heath.”
He didn’t answer right away as he was too busy kissing her back,
caressing and almost giving to his passion. Janine pulled away first, looking
deep into his blue eyes, “I think we
need to talk Heath.” He sighed and held his head up with his fist. He traced
her lips with his finger making her smile.
“Yes, my pretty, I reckon that’s a good idea.” So they talked about the things that
mattered, why she acted the way she did, how they felt about it. They talked almost all night about
everything. They fell asleep for a while then woke up in each other’s arms
talking again. They held each other,
whispering and chuckling. Making promises to each other about always talking
about their problems and not letting them build up. “I love ya Janine. Don’t ya ever forget it.”
“I won’t Cowboy. I
love my life with you. I wouldn’t trade
it for anything in the world.” They
smiled at each other then kissed once again, wanting never to stop.
Jarrod and Jenny were sympathetic to Heath and Janine’s
problems. They heard the laughter coming
from their room and knew that all was well with them. They were going to take the boys for the day so they could have
some time alone together. Nick and
Chelsea were going to take Leah for the day.
They were going to take her for a ride to show her the wild horses that
bordered the property.
Heath decided to spend the whole day with his wife, they
were going to go for a small walk in Victoria’s flower gardens. After spending
two weeks in bed, she deserved a small outing.
They walked outside, enjoying the sunshine and warm air. The smell of fresh rose blooms filled the
air. They held hands as they strolled
around admiring the rock walls filled with perennials. The roses adorned the top of the wall, red
ones, white ones, yellow ones. It was
breathtaking. They stopped at the gazebo and sat down. “Are ya okay Janey?”
“Yeah Heath. Just
need to rest for a bit.”
“Take all the time ya need. We have the whole day.”
He put his arm around her and drew her closer. He kissed the top of her
head as she lay it on his shoulder.
They snuggled like that for a long while. Heath looked down at her to see that she had fallen asleep. He adjusted his body so that they were more
comfortable, and he fell asleep with his head on top of hers.
A little while later they woke up, blurry eyed. Sitting up, they stretched and smiled at
each other. “Well that was a rest I never expected” said Heath grinning.
“I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I just felt so comfortable lying in your arms.” He pulled her into his lap and she wrapped
her arms around him, sighing. “I love
you Heath.” He kissed her lips, parting
them with his tongue, savoring her taste.
She returned his passion before he pulled away, breathless.
“I love the way you make me feel Janey. Its like I first met you all over
again.” She smiled devilishly and drew
his head down to hers. She kissed with
so much passion, that he was lost. They
kissed like that for a while and then pulled away from each other. “Janey. We mustn’t do this.”
“I know Heath, but its so much fun.” She told him
wickedly. He playfully chucked her chin
and stood up. He reached out his hand
and took hers in his, caressing it lovingly.
Let’s go back home, put you back to bed. I’ll make us a bite to eat and
we can have a picnic in our room.”
She sighed and clasped his hand, entwining her fingers
with his. “Sounds good, Heath. Let’s
go.” Hand in hand they made their way
back to the house, stopping to smell the roses or sneaking a kiss under the
trees along the way. Before they opened the door to the house, Janine stopped
Heath and wrapped her arms around his neck. Heath leaned against the side of
the house, lost in her kiss and the smell of her hair. “Okay! We have to stop
this.” she reached up and slapped the back of his head.
“Ow! What was that
for?” He rubbed the back of his head.
“For tempting me with that kiss of yours.” She grinned at him wickedly and opened the
door.
“Now looky here Janey.”
He followed her in, chuckling. They went upstairs and Janine crawled
into bed after taking her boots off.
Heath covered her up and caressed her cheek. “I love ya, my pretty. Ya
get some rest, and I’ll get us some food. Maybe I’ll let ya come downstairs for
supper.”
“You’ll let me?
Why Heath Barkley…….” He was out
the door before she finished her sentence.
She smiled at the closed door.
That cowboy of hers was something else but he was hers and she loved him
with all her heart.
One day early in June, Heath had just come back from town,
bringing someone with him. Janine was
large with child, and sitting in the parlour with Audra who was having troubles
getting comfortable in the chair she was sitting in. They were both chatting
and sewing baby clothes for each other.
“Janey, I’ve a surprise for you.”
She looked up and saw that it was her mother, father and a
big black lady she had never seen before.
She went to stand up but Marge stopped her by rushing up to her just as
she was standing up.
“Mama!” she exclaimed excitedly. “Papa!” She was swept up in hugs and kisses from both
parents. “Heath never even mentioned
that you’d be here!” She sent a look to him that said she would speak to him
later about this.
“Daughter, we were so worried about you! How are you feeling? You’d better sit down!” Smiling, they all took their seats, “Oh hi
Audra, how nice to see you. Well would
you look at that?” Marge smiled as she spoke to Audra and seeing her protruding
body.
Audra smiled and said, “My baby is to be born around the
same time as Janey’s.”
“Well isn’t that nice,” commented Marge. Heath stood at
the door with the strange woman. “Heath bring Laura here.” He obediently took the black woman’s arm and
walked over to where the ladies were sitting. He had no idea who this lady was
either and the Greenes had no intention of telling him until they saw their
daughter first. Janine looked at the
lady, a spark of recognition was in her eyes.
“LAURA!” She stood
up and hugged her childhood friend.
“Whatever are ya doing here?”
“Ya mammy said youse needed a nanny, so heres I am.”
“Oh Laura! This is wonderful!” Heath looked perplexed as
the Greenes smiled. “Heath! Laura is the daughter of my nanny, we played
together as children. Well I played and
she just went along, seeing’s she’s quite a bit older then me.”
Heath smiled at the lady and stuck out his hand, “Nice to
meet you. I’ll go round up the children so you all can meet them.” With that
Heath left to gather the children from their rooms and bring them down to meet
the grandparents and nanny. Janine had
Silas make some tea, visiting with her parents before she had to go upstairs
and rest till supper.
Heath had both boys in his arms and Leah ran up to her
mother. “Hi Mama. Papa said that…” She stopped and stared at the couple on the sofa who were smiling
at her. “Who they?” she demanded of her
mother.
“Leah, that is impolite.
But to answer your question, meet your grandparents, Grandma and Grandpa
Greene.” Leah slunk behind her mother and stared at the couple. She hadn’t seen them since she was a baby
and had gone to New York with her parents.
Marge and Charles had made plans to come back to California but Marge
had gotten sick and couldn’t travel. Janine observed her mother, and saw that
she had lost weight, her countenance gaunt.
Charles poured himself into his work at the bank where soon he would be
retiring. Janine was very glad her
mother had come as she really needed her mother at this point.
“See my bwothers?
This here Davey. He gonna be one soon.” She said patting and kissing the
dark head of the little boy. Heath put
him down where he toddled over to them and lifted his arms to be picked up by
his mother. She picked him up gingerly,
and placed him on her lap. “This
Fweddy. He is wittle and no talk and no walk yet. But he nice.” She looked up at her father who nodded
appreciatively at her. Marge held her arms out to the little boy with the blond
hair.
As Marge held onto the little boy, she felt a little tug
on her dress. David had come to her
wanting to be picked up. He wanted to
be with his brother. Janine smiled at
her children. Leah gradually went near
her grandparents and then asked to sit on Charles’ knee. Charles picked her up and sat on his knee. Leah looked up at him with wonder in her
eyes then said, “you my gampa?”
“Yep. That’s what I was told”
She smiled and sat on his knee watching her brothers being
passed around from grandparent to grandparent.
She watched as the large black woman held Freddy. “He need changin’ fo
sho. Lead me to his room and I change him.”
“No need, Laura.
Ya just got here. This is your
day to relax.”
“Nonsense, Mrs. Janine. I came here to work and work I
will.” Heath chuckled as she took both
babies and headed off towards the stairs.
“Ok. Mr. Heath is it?” he nodded.
“Show me the way and I fix babies up fine.” Janine smiled as her husband led the way upstairs to the
nursery.
“Thank ya Mama, Papa. For bringing Laura here. Now maybe I can move home.” Both parents looked at her
incredulously.
“You are to stay here until that baby is born, young
lady!” Audra chuckled as she watched
her friend’s expression. Janine felt like shrinking into her chair. She felt a pair of masculine hands on her
shoulders. She looked up and there was Heath grinning at her.
“I told ya so,” he said to her. She slapped his hand and that made Audra laugh out loud. The rest of the family came in to wait for
supper, shaking hands with the new arrivals and made small talk until Silas
announced supper. They ate heartily, and the table was lively. There were a lot of conversations happening,
and Victoria watched with a smile on her face.
Her mind wandered away from the conversations as she thought about her
husband and how he would have loved this extended family.
After dinner, they made their way to the pool room where
the men played a very lively game of pool.
Janine yawned, and decided it was time she went to rest. “I’m sorry but I think its time I went to
bed. Been up for a long time today.”
She spied Heath watching her, “I think I had better before Nurse Heath nags me
to go to bed.” Everyone chuckled at
this remark. “Come on Leah, say
goodnight to everyone.”
“G’night ev’wybody.” She went around the room kissing and
hugging everyone. She took Janine’s hand and together they went to bed. Heath came up after a while and found his
wife sleeping. He undressed and slipped
under the covers, snuggling close to her. He draped his large arm over her side
and felt the babies moving within her. He was
at peace now that they had a nanny for the children, and her parents
were here for her. He closed his eyes
and let the comforting kick of the babies lull him to sleep.
Heath let Janine sleep late. She grew bigger each day it seemed to both of them. She stayed in bed a lot more but everyone
came to visit her bringing the children for her. David was now running around and Freddy was just trying to
crawl. Laura was great with them, never
doing anything to them without asking the couple. Heath was pleased that Janine seemed a lot happier now that
things were going back into a routine.
Heath could go back to the range and not worry about her.
Jarrod and Jenny watched as the couple relaxed now that
her family was around to take care of her.
They decided to have a special day of their own. They took little Cat
with them on a picnic at their favorite spot on the river. It was a grassy spot with the pools of water
swirling past them. Up above was a small waterfall, the water cascading over a
large pile of rocks making a soothing sound. The birds chirped their happy
songs and the squirrels cackling, warning for danger.
Jarrod held Cat as Jenny laid the blanket down on the
grass. He put Cat down on the blanket
and took the picnic basket from her. They set out the food, a combination of
Chinese and western fair. Jenny had
been teaching Silas how to cook Chinese style, and he learned fast. He made some almond chicken, egg rolls, and
sweet and sour pork for their picnic.
He also put in some fried chicken, potato salad, some sweet rolls, and
wine.
Cat fell asleep soon after finishing her bottle. Jarrod stood up and reached his hand to his
wife, wanting to go sit on the rock near the creek. Hand in hand they walked to the rock, Jarrod sitting on it and
pulling her into his arms. He wrapped
his arms around her, nuzzling her neck as they watched the ducks try to swim
upstream. They saw the fish jump and
watched as the ducks dove under the water.
Jarrod kissed the back of her neck and caressed her stomach. Jenny
turned around, wrapping her tiny arms around his waist. She parted her lips for a passionate kiss
and he responded. As they kissed, their
hands roamed over their bodies, wanting to fulfill the desire that came upon
them. With one last look at Cat, they
laid down on the grass and greedily succumbed to the heated passion that built
up between them.
Cat woke up after a while, wanting to be fed and changed,
they decided it was time to go home. They climbed into the surrey and headed
off to home, their special day was about over, but very happy that they had
spent time alone with each other.
“Jarrod?”
“Yes, Jenny?” He
took her tiny hand into his own while hanging onto the reins. He let them walk
slowly so they could talk and still enjoy their day.
“Will Janine be all right? She is getting awful big.”
Jarrod looked at her and squeezed her hand.
“She will be fine.
I worry about her too, as does Heath. She is tough and loves her family
deeply. She would not give up too
easily I’m afraid.” He glanced at
Jenny. “What’s the matter, Jenny?”
“I’m scared for her.
She knows the consequences yet she doesn’t let it bother her. Do you think she is afraid?” Jenny was looking at their baby asleep in
her arms.
“Are you scared that she is going to lose the baby then
blame you for having a perfectly healthy one?”
She nodded slowly, tears starting to stem from her eyes. Jarrod stopped
the surrey and drew her into his arms.
“I wouldn’t worry about that, my lady.
Janine is unselfish as they come.
Don’t be upset because you had a good confinement. Yes, I think she is
afraid but she knew what would happen if she got in the family way, and has
accepted the consequences. Good or
bad. She wouldn’t blame you in anyway.”
“Why are you so sure of this?” She was lost in the depths
of his blue eyes.
“You see how she is with all of the children. She is a loving person, she accepts
everything, well almost everything. I’m pretty sure of her reaction to the
baby. Watch and see, they both are good people.” He kissed her passionately before picking up the reins to spur
the horses on. “I love you Jennifer
Barkley.”
She smiled as they trotted towards their home, “I love you
too Jarrod Barkley.”
Nick and Chelsea decided to go for a ride on the range and
have a picnic wherever their travels lead them. They rode over to check the cattle then off to the hills to see
the view of the ranch. That’s where they would have their picnic. They had sandwiches, some fried chicken and
potato salad. They put it all in a small basket and tied it to the back of Nick’s saddle.
Chelsea had never seen the ranch in work before and was
amazed at how well everyone worked together. “Wow! Nick I never knew! You all work so hard. I will remember this when I ask you to do
something for me!”
He grinned and took hold of her feminine hand. “I don’t
mind, I enjoy doing things for you Chel.
I will tell ya when I’m too tired to do something.” She smiled at him, leaned over and kissed
him. He was surprised when she took off
at a run towards the hills away from the cattle. He chased after her and couldn’t find her till he spotted her
sorrel in the trees with no rider. He
stopped Coco and hopped off. He tied both horses to a branch of the oak tree
and called out, “Chelsea Barkley, I know yore around here somewhere! Come out, come out wherever you are.” There was no sound. He listened carefully and heard the bushes
rustle near him. He turned his head and
smiled. He saw the outline of his wife
in the bushes to the right of him. He
deliberately headed off in another direction and glanced behind him. She hadn’t moved, so he turned into the
trees and doubled back, sneaking up behind her. He placed his arms around her making her squeal. “Found ya, my
wife! How dare you try to hide on me! Don’t ya know I’ll always find ya?”
She laughed and tried to wiggle out of his powerful arms
but gave up the fight when he planted kisses on her neck. She turned in his arms and kissed him
passionately. “I love you Nick.” Their picnic forgotten, they kissed each
other passionately until their bodies yearned desperately for each other. Hands caressing, lips kissing, passions
coming in waves for both of them. They
simply gave in to it and shred their clothes.
After their passions were satisfied, they dressed and walked hand in
hand to their mounts. They kissed
beside the horses, not wanting to part from each other. After a while they parted and mounted their
horses, each lost in the thoughts of their passion.
They reached their spot and spread out the blanket. They set out their food and ate heartily
talking all the while. “Nick I have
something I want to tell you.” He lay
on his back, and she joined him, putting her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her and pulled her on
top of him. They kissed for a bit.
“What is it Chel?”
He asked, running his fingers through her dark hair. He loved the
lavender scent that flowed through her hair.
“Babies scare me, Nick” she blurted, not really meaning
to. She fought with herself on how she was going to share this bit of
information with him.
He sat up then and looked worriedly at her. “Why Chelsea?” He took her hand but she
pulled away and sat up.
“I worry about carrying the baby. Watching Janine is scaring me.”
“Honey, what’s happening with Janine does not happen to
every woman. She is having problems
because of things that happened in her past.”
Realizing she didn’t know much about Janine, he filled her in about her
ex husband and what little he knew.
Chelsea sobbed when she heard her story. “I’m still scared.” The tall, dark cowboy took her in his arms
and held her. He stroked her hair and
entwined his fingers into it.
“I know Honey. I
am too. But this thing with Janine doesn’t happen very often. But look at
her. She is really brave, and has her
bad days when things get to her. She
loves her family and that is important.
We love each other and we can get through any problems together, right?”
She looked at him and nodded, “I guess I am being
silly. I just don’t want to go through
what she is.”
“I know Chel. But
we can’t borrow problems before they happens.
If it happens, we will deal with it.
And hopefully with as much dignity and pride as Heath and Janine.” This
made Chelsea feel better and she told him so.
He lifted her head so she could look into her eyes and kissed her parted
lips, his tongue searching for hers. They kissed for a while before the passion
took hold of them once again.
Eventually they made their way home and in time for supper.
Janine sat in her bed, surrounded by her loving
family. They came bringing news from
town, and bringing her little gifts.
They always knew when the door was open she wanted visitors. Lately,
though, the door has been closed, only allowing Laura in with the
children. Janine was feeling depressed
again. She was tired of always sitting
in bed, always seeing the same four walls.
She pleaded with Heath to take her outside for a short walk in the
garden. He took pity on her and told
her just for a short walk. He dried her
tears, knowing that more would come later when something wouldn’t go right for
her.
Outside, she breathed the air as if it was her last
breath. Heath smiled as she smelled the
roses, then sat on the swing that was out in the garden. He sat beside her and pulled her close. “Janey, soon it will be time for the babies
to make their appearance. Boy howdy I’m excited!” He squeezed her shoulders.
“You’re excited? I’m scared Heath. Two more mouths to feed! Five kids!
And ya
get to go out every day!”
Heath pulled her away gently, patting his lap for her to sit on.
“What’s wrong Janey?
It’s too late to change your mind now!” He nuzzled her neck, making her
giggle with pleasure.
“I think I have to much time on my hands, Heath. I need
something to occupy my time. Don’t get me wrong, I love the children, all of
them. I’m just overwhelmed at the
responsibility.” She leaned back into
him and his arms encircled her. He
rubbed her belly, feeling the movement of the babies inside. He smiled as one of them gave a huge
kick.
He leaned his face against hers, breathing his next words
into her ear, “I know, my pretty, but we have Laura now. She will be a big help. I’m real glad that
your parents thought to bring her along.”
“Me too, Honey. I
just want these babies out! Still three
months to go. Boy howdy Heath! Its been such a long time already! I don’t
know how much more coddling I can take.” He chuckled and kissed her cheek. “I love ya Heath, but really, you are the
worst of them all!”
“Is that right?
Reckon I should stop carin’ for ya?”
He kissed her face and turned her around so she was facing him. He planted kisses on her forehead, then
kissed her parted lips, his passion getting the best of him.
She pulled away, giggling, “Don’t ya dare! Just ‘cause I said you are too much, doesn’t
mean ya have to stop! It’s just my
frustration of being cooped up takin’ over.
‘give me?” she said in her best Leah imitation.
“I reckon. But if
ya keep cryin’ like that, I’m goin’ to throw ya to the cattle till those babies
come out!” She giggled as he kept
nuzzling her neck and letting his hands roam.
“I reckon ya better stop doin’ that or I won’t be held
responsible for what happens!” She was
breathless with his caressing and kissing.
“Yeah? And what’s
goin’ to happen?” He teased her as he
caressed her stomach lovingly.
“I can’t tell ya. But I know it won’t be good for either
of us!” He chuckled and kissed her
deeply once again. He reluctantly pulled away, and caressed her face. “Why’d ya stop, Heath?”
“I don’t want to hurt ya, Janey.”
“You’d never hurt me.
Ya love me too much for that.” She smiled at him and drew him closer for
one final kiss. “But you’re right. We
mustn’t get carried away. I guess I need to go back in.” She stood up and took
his hand. “thank ya for bringing me
outside Heath. It was just what I
needed.” She brought his hand up to her
lips and kissed it. “I love ya”
“I love ya too Janey.
You mean the world to me. I
really mean that.” They both smiled at
each other and went in. She went
upstairs to lay down and have a nap before supper.
Victoria was having her rest before supper as well. All the people in her house overwhelmed her.
She put down her book and thought about all the things that have happened to
her family. All her children were
married now and having families of their own.
Once they were all moved out on their own, the house would be
lonely. She knew that was the way
things worked, but it sure hurt knowing that one day everyone would be gone.
She raised a finger and wiped a tear from her eye. She thought about Tom. She didn’t know why she called Heath Tom on
his birthday. She was mixing things up
a lot lately but shrugged it off as being a little scatterbrained lately. She
had been busy entertaining the Greene’s and the children. But it was more than that. She couldn’t put
a finger on it but she wouldn’t worry about it. Its just that its been so busy lately, she told herself and
closed her eyes. She fell asleep till
Silas knocked on the door, telling her it was time for supper.
That night as they lay entwined in each other’s arms,
Heath and Janine spoke of many things.
“I can’t wait till we get home, Heath.” Heath nodded. “We are goin’ to
have our hands full, ya know.”
“I know. But I’m
really lookin’ forward to it. I promise
to help ya out all I can.”
“I know ya will Heath.
Ya already do that and more. I’m
so happy I met ya.” They reminisced
about their meeting. “Ya know Heath when I first met ya in the saloon that day,
you stole my heart.”
He kissed her tenderly as he pondered her words. “Here I
thought ya didn’t like me.”
“It wasn’t ya I didn’t like. If I wasn’t married, I’d probably let ya buy me that drink.” She grinned and kissed him. “Maybe once this
baby is born and a little older, we can take off and spend some time alone
together.”
“Who’s gonna look after five kids?” He traced an outline of her lips and she
kissed his finger. He smiled and
caressed the rest of her face. He bent down and kissed her tenderly, not
letting her answer.
After having kissed her breathless, she had forgotten the
answer to the question . There was no need. They slowly shed their clothes and
enjoyed each other’s warm bodies lying next to each other. With the lamp on
low, Heath pulled off the blankets and gazed at her. He touched her gently and slowly then kissed her lovingly. She ran her hands through his hair and drew
him up to kiss him. They lay together
for a while, not talking just holding and kissing each other. He moved down and kissed her stomach, speaking
in gentle tones to the babies inside.
She smiled as he kissed her stomach.
It felt good to have him love her like that. He lay with his head on her chest, his hands caressing her
stomach. He pulled up the blanket when he felt her shiver. He kissed each breast and sighed. They both wanted more, but knew it wasn’t to
be. So they took pleasure in just the
simple things, hugging, kissing, caressing, waiting for the day when they could
experience their love physically. Janine turned on her side while Heath lay on
his back. She kissed him tenderly. She lay her head on his shoulder and fell
asleep, with thoughts of love on her mind.
Disappointed, Heath knew it was for the best. He turned the lamp off and hugged her close. It was time for
sleep.
Janine and Leah were talking between themselves one
morning before Leah began her day. She
and her father were taking morning rides then she would spend time with her
aunts, grandmas, grandpa and Laura doing different things. “Mama?”
“Yes Leah?”
“How come you cwy so much?”
Janine was startled to hear this question from her
daughter’s lips. The expression on her
angelic face was so much like her fathers.
The raised eyebrow was a dead give away, she thought and smiled. “Well Honey. It’s because I’m
frustrated. I want to spend time with
you, the boys and Papa. I want to be
able to take care of you all, the way a mama should.”
“But Papa says the baby need west.”
“Yes Leah. The
baby does need rest. I need to rest
too. It makes me cry sometimes to
because I want to be outside playing with you and not lay around in bed.”
“No worry Mama.
When babies come out, we can pway.
Maybe we can pway dolls?”
“I’d like that very much Leah. I miss ya when you’re out with everyone.” Leah ran out of the
room, gathering her dolls, when Marge walked in with Freddy. “Hi Mama.
I see you’re up bright and early.”
“Yes. I just
wanted to see my grandchildren. You are
doing a great job with them, Daughter.”
“Thank ya Mama.”
“You happy Daughter?”
She sat on the bed, bouncing Freddy on her knee.
“Yes Mama.
Very. Why do you ask?’
“You seem so upset all the time.”
“Oh Mama. I’m just
getting tired of lying around. I want
to be a wife to Heath and mother to my children. I want to be in my own house.”
“Now Daughter. I
really wish you would quit bellyaching about what you can’t do and look what you
can do. You can make time to spend with
each of the children. I noticed that
you haven’t been spending much time with the boys. You can make time to spend with your husband. You can find other things to occupy your
time. Right now, you are acting like a
spoiled brat and I won’t have you acting that way. We taught you better than
that!”
Janine thought about her mother’s words. She was ashamed of herself. She couldn’t help the way she felt. Her
emotions were all over the place and she couldn’t stop them from overflowing.
She just wanted to be normal, to have a life outside the bedroom. The tears
flowed down her cheeks as she replied to her mother’s words, “Have I really
been acting like a spoiled child?” Her mother nodded her silver head. “I didn’t
realize. Victoria spoke to me about it
and I listened, but obviously not hard enough.
I will try to be better. Maybe I
should apologize to everyone?”
“I think that might be an idea.” Leah came in with her
dolls. “Hi Leah. Coming to keep Mama company?”
“Yeah Gama Mar. We
gonna pway dolls.” She put the dolls on
the bed and crawled up beside Janine.
She gave a doll to Janine and began to play. Marge watched until Freddy
started fussing. She rose from the
chair just as Laura was coming in with David. Leah looked up from her game with
her mother and sighed.
“Awways babies, coming and going. Still pwayin’ with me Mama?”
Janine hugged her daughter, “Of course honey.” They played
while Laura held David and watched them play.
“Jes’ like when we was girls, Jan” Laura mused. “Ceptin’ Ise got yore chilluns
now instead of Mammy tendin’ to ya.” Janine smiled at her childhood friend.
“Yes Laura, jes like when we was girls.” She copied. Laura smiled and shook her head chuckling to
herself, her red bandanna almost falling off her head, and allowing Janine a
look at her short curly hair.
Heath came in at
that point to tell everyone that breakfast was ready. He looked at the mess of dolls on the bed and the happy look on
Leah’s face. “K Papa.” She picked up the dolls, taking them back to
her room. Janine slowly maneuvered herself out of bed, taking Heath’s hand and
waddled down the stairs to the dining room.
She filled her plate with eggs and toast, then sat down at the
table. She took a bite, then looked up
at everyone around the table.
“I have something to say to everyone before I go back to
bed and you all start your day.” Heath
looked startled at his wife, searching her face for a clue of what she was
about to say. Everyone was at the table, waiting expectantly for her to
continue. Marge, knowing what it was
Janine was going to say, nodded to her, urging her on. “I…ummm…just wanted to apologize for my
behaviour of late. I haven’t been
exactly civil to any of you and you haven’t deserved any of it. You have been nothing but supportive to me.
I sincerely apologize and will try to act like a woman instead of a spoiled
brat.”
All eyes pointed
her way. Heath squeezed her hand. She went back to eating, and a male voice
was heard booming, “Well Neen! Welcome
back to the real world. Maybe now Heath will get some real work done instead of
worrying about you? This is a working
ranch you know!”
“Janine, I’m glad to see you are feeling better
today. Please don’t feel sorry for
yourself, we understand if you need to let go of some steam. But pitying
yourself is the worst thing. It makes
you an ugly woman when you do that.” Janine kept her eyes down to her plate,
picking at her breakfast, listening to what everyone had to say. She squeezed Heath’s hand back and smiled at
him. He winked then commenced eating
breakfast.
July Fourth came and went. They didn’t do anything special, the families went in to the
celebrations, taking Leah with them.
Heath and Janine decided to spend the day by themselves. They gave Laura
the day off from the babies, but she went with the Greenes to the celebrations
taking the babies with them. They all
had a wonderful day, each member of the family remembering the importance of the
day.
Marge was not feeling well, her health failing her but she
wouldn’t let on to her family that she was hurting. She got up in the middle of the night and coughed quietly. Charles lay in bed, listening to her,
remembering the doctor’s words, “She is very sick. She has consumption. Its not contagious but she should be
resting.” When she found out she had
it, she told Charles she wanted to see Janine and her family. Charles, with tears in his eyes, held her
and stroked her graying her, told her to pack their bags. They were leaving to California that week.
He thought of this as he listened to her cough. She lay back in bed, and he held her. “Don’t you think you better tell her, Margie?” He asked as he kissed her hair softly.
“I know I should, Charlie, but I don’t want to upset her. She is having enough time with everything
now.”
“We should at least tell Heath. He knows her better then we do, these days.” She had another
coughing spasm as she nodded.
“You’re right Charlie, as usual. I want to see those
babies born. Our little girl has grown
up to be quite the lady, wouldn’t you say?”
“Yes she sure has.
We should be proud of her. She
has proven to endure the toughest of lives, the life she chose for
herself. She married a wonderful man,
who despite his upbringing and heritage, is good for her. We couldn’t have done any better
ourselves. Yes our little girl has
grown up quite beautifully.” He looked
down at his wife of forty-two years and saw that she had fallen asleep in his
arms. He closed his eyes and let the
tears fall. It wasn’t going to be easy
to tell their daughter but it was something they had to do before it was too
late.
Janine heard the frequent coughing coming from the guest
room where her parents were staying.
She was worried about her mother. The flushed cheeks, her normally steel
eyes were bright. She noticed that her
mother wasn’t eating very much. The
coughing was the worst, she tried telling them it was just a summer cold but
Janine knew. Somehow she knew before
anybody said anything to her, that it was not good.
Charles had gone out to the barn that morning. He had
promised Heath that he would help him with some fencing out in Sky
Meadows. It felt good to get out and do
some good, honest work for a change. It
relieved a lot of the tension he had been feeling with his wife’s illness. He had no idea how to tell his son-in-law
about his wife. They worked together in silence, putting in the poles, then
stringing the barbed wire. After a
couple of hours they took a break, sitting down in the shade of the elm tree
near the fence line.
“Heath, I just wanted to tell you how happy we are since
you joined our family. You have made our Janine very happy, we can see that.”
He looked up from the ground where he was scraping some
dirt off his tan boot. “She’s made me
very happy. She’s a kind and loving
woman. I couldn’t imagine my life
without her,” he told him sincerely.
“I know what you mean, son. I can’t imagine my life without my wife. She has been a steadfast, loving woman to me
for forty-two years.” His voice broke as Heath watched his father-in-law with
concern and waited for him to speak again.
When Charles had regained his composure, he told Heath about Marge’s
illness. “How do we tell Janine?”
Heath thought for a few minutes. “I reckon ya should just tell her. She’s going to be upset regardless how ya tell her, so I reckon
straight out with the truth is the best way.”
Heath quietly observed the grey haired man, who was trying his best not
to show how upset he was.
“C-c-can you tell her Heath, for us?”
Heath took his hat
off and wiped his brow. He slowly shook
his head. “I reckon its best if ya and Marge did it, Charles. I’ll be there to comfort her, but she needs
to hear it from ya both.” He returned the hat back to his sweat ridden head and
looked at his father-in-law. He put his
large, callused hand on the sorrowed man’s shoulder. “I’m sorry Charles. I’ll
help ya all I can.” They went back to work, silently, each absorbed in their
own thoughts.
That night Charles and Marge agreed they would tell their
daughter about the illness. Heath was
right, it should come from them. He was
a wise man, this son-in-law of theirs.
They were thankful he came into their lives and saved their daughter
from a life of misery with that other man.
They both fell into a fitful sleep, dreading the morning and what they
had to tell their only daughter.
Charles and Marge stood in the couple’s bedroom watching
and listening as Janine spoke to Leah. Leah was talking about what she was
going to do that day with her Uncle Jarrod, Aunt Jenny and little Cat. They were going to take her for a ride to
town and take her to lunch. She was
excited about it as she liked her Uncle Jarrod. “Why don’t you go see if breakfast is ready, Leah?”
“K mama. Lawa
change Fweddy diaper and will bwing him in after.” Leah was proud of herself
that she remembered that important message.
“Thank ya Leah for telling me. Now go see if breakfast is ready and tell Papa I’m gonna eat up
here, k?”
“K mama. Wove
you.”
“Love ya too, Sweetheart.” She ran out of the room with her usual exuberance making everyone
in the room chuckle. Heath came around
the corner and through the door, seeing her parents standing there. He crossed the room to the bed and sat
beside her. Marge pulled the chair up
close, and Charles stood beside her.
“Daughter, we have something important to tell you.”
started Charles, his voice cracking.
Marge put her hand on his and patted it.
“Its okay Charles.
Janine, honey. I don’t know how
to tell you. I’ve been wanting to tell
you since we arrived here. You’ve been
so moody that I didn’t want to upset you further.”
Janine got a panicked look on her face, she knew what was
coming and didn’t want to hear it. She
grasped her husband’s hand and clasped it.
“What is it Mama? Papa?” she asked her parents quietly.
“There is no easy way to tell you. So I’ll tell you straight out. I have consumption. There is no cure as you know.” She started coughing badly then causing
Janine get out of bed and going to her mother. She put her arms around her neck
and hugged her tightly. They sat like
that for a while, holding each other while their husbands watched. They pulled apart and Janine wiped the tears
from her mother’s brown eyes. “I love
you Janine. Always remember this, I’m
very proud of you and your family. You
are a good woman. When I’m gone….”
“Shhh. Mama. Let’s
not talk about the end. Let’s just
enjoy what time we have left, k?” Marge
nodded. “Now, go downstairs and eat breakfast, I already decided to eat up
here. I don’t feel like going down those stairs today.” She grinned at her parents. “Go eat, Mama,
Papa. Please. Thank ya for tellin’ me.” Her parents looked at her, confused, not
sure if they should leave her.
Heath nodded to them and walked them to the door. “It’ll
be all right. I’ll stay with her for a
while. Come back this afternoon and
talk to her. I’m sure she’ll wanna talk
to ya then.” They were glassy-eyed as they turned and walked downstairs to the
dining room. Heath turned to find his
wife in silent tears on the bed. He sat
on the bed, and wrapped his strong arms around her. She laid her head on his shoulder as he caressed her back, reassuringly,
as sobs racked her body. He knew how
she felt, he lost his mother to sickness as well.
Silas knocked on
the door and put their breakfast on the table in front of the window. He glanced at the couple as he left the
room, and felt unhappy as he heard the sorrowful weeping of Janine.
A few hours later, Heath left Janine as she fell
asleep. He brushed the curly locks out
of her face and kissed her cheek. She
smiled in her sleep while he covered her up with the heavy afghan. He knocked on the guest room door and a
haggard looking Charles opened the door.
He put his gnarly finger up to his lips and shushed him. He closed the door and went downstairs to
talk to Heath. “She’s sleeping. She was
up half the night, coughing. It’s
getting worse, son. We will soon have to get the doctor, I think.”
Victoria heard this exchange, but didn’t pry. Heath would tell her when he was ready. She stood at the door for a long time,
wondering why she was standing there. She
shook her head and went to the kitchen. She took some dishes out of the
cupboard and placed them in the icebox.
She closed the door and went upstairs.
She decided it was time for a nap.
A while later, Silas came to the study, seeing the three
men there, looking over maps of the ranch. The black manservant started dusting
the books and listening to the men talk about the property lines. Silas kept dusting the same book, seemingly
lost in thought. “Silas? Somethin’ botherin’ ya?”
The three brothers watched as Silas turned towards them,
looking perplexed and muttering, “Whoever heard of putting plates in the icebox?”
The three men looked at each other confused.
“What did you say Silas?” Jarrod asked him.
“Yo Mother. She
put plates in the icebox.”
“She did what?” they were in unison as they said the
words.
“That’s not all. I
found her favorite pearl stick pin in the bread. She has been wandering outside, looking very lost. What’s goin’ on Mr Jarrod?”
“I don’t know, Silas.
She has been having trouble with a lot of things lately. Seems very distracted.”
Heath interjected, “She keeps callin’ me Tom. I asked her about it and she said she had
been thinkin’ lots about your…our father.”
Nick nodded, “She seems moody towards the children as
well. It’s just not like her. what do you suppose is wrong?”
“I’m goin’ to town tomorrow, maybe I stop in at Dr. Merar’s
and ask him to look in on Mother?” The other two brothers nodded in agreement
at Heath. “I have to go see him about
Janey’s mother. She is not well.” The brothers listened intently as he
explained about her condition.
“How is Neen takin’ it?” asked Nick.
“She’s upset of course, but she won’t let her parents see
her. I’m worried about her but she
tells me I’m being over protective.”
“Is there anything we can do?” Jarrod put his hand on Heath’s shoulder and squeezed.
Heath smiled faintly as he looked at both his caring,
older brothers. “No, there isn’t. We just have to wait it out. I hate the waitin’! Waitin’ for the babies. Waitin’ for doctors. Wait, wait, wait!” Nick and Jarrod glanced at each other then over to their normally
calm, cool, and collected brother. He was obviously feeling overwhelmed. Leah came bounding in at that moment,
causing Heath to pull from his reverie.
He picked up his daughter and hugged her tightly. Howdy Lil One! Are ya ready for a ride?”
“A wide? But I all weady went for a wide with Unca
Jawwod.” Jarrod smiled at his niece.
“There’s no law that says ya can’t take two rides in one
day, is there?” He nuzzled her neck
making her giggle.
“No I reckin not Papa.”
She squealed with laughter as Heath put her on his shoulders and swung
her around. Nick and Jarrod watched as Heath took his vivacious daughter out of
the room.
“Silas, don’t
worry about Mother. We’ll take care of
it.” Silas looked confused but nodded
as he exited the room muttering to himself.
Audra was sitting upstairs with Janine, playing cards with
her and gossiping. Laura brought the babies in for Janine to take care of while
she cleaned the children’s rooms. Jenny
and Chelsea came in bringing everyone tea and snacks. They all gossiped about the dance coming up and if everyone was
going.
“oh yeah I’m goin’!” exclaimed Janine giggling. “Can ya just see me waddlin’ my big body out
on the dance floor?” The sisters all
laughed politely at the thought. “Next year.
I plan to go dancin’ as soon as these babies come out!”
“Me too, Janey.
I’m gettin’ so uncomfortable. I
can’t sleep, I’m eatin’ all the time. This baby keeps kickin’ me every time I
turn around.” Audra looked
uncomfortable.
Janine patted her hand and smiled. “At least you’re only
carryin’ one Audra. Times that by two
and you got me.” Chelsea took the
conversation in and rubbed her stomach.
Her turn was coming and she hadn’t told anyone yet.
The conversation turned to parents and they talked quietly
about their own parents. Jenny’s
parents passed away a few years ago in a house fire. She missed her parents greatly and there wasn’t a day that went
by that she didn’t think about them.
Janine told them all about her mother’s illness. They all comforted her and told her if she
needed anything to let them know.
Chelsea spent one day, once a week visiting her parents, with Nick. As much as she enjoyed visiting her parents,
she was always glad to come home and be with the Barkley Family. Audra didn’t know what to say about her
mother. The others looked at her
expectantly and slowly she spoke her concerns.
“I am not living here anymore, but I have noticed
something about Mother,” she started.
They listened as she explained about the different things she saw her
mother doing. They all nodded in
agreement. Something was not right with her, they didn’t know what, but they
would help her out where they could.
That was something they all agreed upon. The conversation turned to other topics, husbands, children, life
in general and reminiscing.
They were all
laughing about some antic that Janine and Audra were involved in when the door
opened. There stood Heath and Leah,
Jarrod, Nick and Fred. They stood in
the doorway, watching the women with their various projects in the making and
how well they were getting along. “Well
Chelsea! Don’t ya think its time to get
ready to go to your parents?”
Chelsea looked up from her knitting, startled. She was enjoying the conversation so much,
she had forgotten about the visit with her parents. “Oh Nick, I forgot. I’m
sorry. I’ll get ready as soon as I clean my mess up.” Nick chuckled at his wife’s flustered state. The other ladies gathered their things,
telling Janine that they would be back soon to visit. They each in turn kissed her cheek, with promises of a visit
soon. Janine watched them leave as
Laura was bringing the boys in to visit before supper.
The boys were all over Heath as he cleaned up for
supper. Heath gave Davey his
Stetson to play while Freddy was into
the armoire playing with all the shoes there.
Janine watched with a smile pasted on her lips. She loved to watch her husband clean up
after a day on the range. She sat up
and grunted her way out of bed. She
made her way over to Heath and took the cloth from him. She helped him wash, then stepped in front
of him, kissing his lips. He put his
arms around her and kissed her back.
She stood there in his arms revelling in the strength of his love. She felt a tug on her leg and she looked
down to see Freddy wanting to be picked up. Heath reluctantly let her go and
picked up the baby. He handed him to
Janine while he picked up David.
Leah came in to see her parents and visit a little before
supper as well. They talked about their
day and enjoyed the family that was theirs.
Silas came by and announced that supper would be ready shortly. Laura took the boys downstairs and put them
in their high chairs. Everyone filed
into their seats and she sat in the kitchen with Silas eating her supper. They had told her that she was part of the
family and to sit with them at the supper table. She refused, saying, “Ise hired help. Hired help don’t sit at the table with the boss.” No amount of pleading would change her
mind. They ate their supper in relative
silence.
That night as they lay in bed, they conversed about what
was happening in the household. There
was confusion about Victoria, she was acting stranger and stranger every
day. Marge was sick and was getting
sicker. Janine was getting large with
child but she was in good spirits now except for the occasional blurt about being fat. This part Heath could handle. He actually enjoyed the quiet. They held
each other as the night time air wafted over them. Eventually sleep over took them and they slept till the rooster
crowed in the morning.
Heath went to town to get supplies and check with the
doctor. He told the family doctor about
all the happenings going on at the massive ranch house. Doctor Merar gaped at the cowboy
thoughtfully before he answered. “Yes Heath, I will be out later today. It sounds like you have a lot going
on.” Heath shook the physicians hand
and headed out the door. He felt a lot
better, knowing the doctor would be there to look at Victoria himself.
Heath came back home with trepidation as he really didn’t
know what he was going to find. It was just one of those days. He rode up to the barn and started unloading
the wagon of feed and other supplies they needed in order to keep the ranch going. He was deep in thought and didn’t hear
anyone come behind him.
“Did you get to see the doctor?” asked Nick in his
exuberant way startling Heath out of his thoughts. The dark haired cowboy
helped his younger sibling by lifting out the fencing that he had purchased.
“Yeah. He’ll be out later today. He said he would look in on Mother then.” Nick nodded as he lifted the poles. The
brothers both worked in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.
Nick remembered when he was a boy and his mother strong
and true. He remembered that she was
the one that wiped away his boyish
tears when his beloved pony died. She
was the one that held him when he was sick.
She was the strong one in the family when their father was killed, she
held the family together. Her love for
her husband and children knew no bounds.
He thought about Heath and the day he arrived, claiming his heritage and
a name. Nick fought him tooth and nail,
denying his existence though he knew just by looking at him, he was a
Barkley. Victoria stood back and let
Nick work through his emotions in his own way.
Yes, he thought, Mother is a good person. A force to be reckoned with.
Hopefully Howard will be able to tell us what is wrong with Mother.
Heath had similar thoughts on the way home. He looked around the barn and saw that
Audra’s carriage was parked just
outside. That was good, he thought.
After they finished unloading the wagon, they headed up towards the
house to wait for the doctor and to see their wives.
No sooner had they got in the house, poured themselves a
drink, the doctor arrived. He went upstairs to check on Marge who was
resting. Janine was sitting with her,
holding her hand, knowing that soon her mother would not be around. She raised a hand to wipe the tears from her
eyes and heard a voice behind her.
“Janine I need to see to your mother. Would you wait outside for a few minutes,
please?” Janine reluctantly let go of
her hand, kissed her cheek and told her she would be right back. She saw Heath standing there and she fell
into his arms. He guided her back to
their room so she could rest. When she
was tucked in bed, he lay beside her, stroking her tear stained cheek. She refused to give in to her pain.
“It’ll be okay Janey.” Heath tried to reassure his wife.
“No it won’t Heath!
She’s sick, and I need to be with her.
Why does she have to be so sick?” she put her hands up to her face and
sobbed quietly. Heath did what he could to comfort her, holding her, stroking
her hair and rocking her. Howard Merar
came in, looked at the couple and cleared his throat.
“Excuse me Heath, Janine.
I want to check you over Janine.
All this stress can’t be doing you any good.” He took out his
stethoscope, putting the bell end on her stomach. He smiled as he heard the heartbeats. “Good Janine. How you feeling?”
“Physically I feel fine.
I’m just tired of carrying these babies. I hope they are ready to be born soon!” She smiled sadly at the
kindly doctor. “What about Mama? How is she?”
“Well Janine. I’ll
be honest with you. I don’t think she has consumption. Whoever made that diagnosis should be not be
doctoring.” Janine stared at him.
“What do you mean she doesn’t have consumption? What does
she have?”
“I think she has Lung Fever. I want her to get a second opinion though. I’m going to wire a doctor in San Francisco
and get him out here to make a diagnosis.”
Janine nodded, “Does Papa know?” He nodded his head. “Okay.
I feel better now. I will talk
to Papa a little later and make sure he is okay. Thanks Doctor for your diagnosis.”
The doctor put his watch and stethoscope away in his black
leather doctor’s bag. “I’ll be back in a couple of days to check on you. Those
babies may want out sooner then we anticipate. Meanwhile, just rest and try not
to overdo it, all right?” Dr. Merar
patted her hand and rose off the bed.
“Now I would like to visit with Victoria.”
“She’s downstairs with Audra.”
“Thank you. Now
you take it easy you hear, Janine?”
“Yes Doctor.” She answered back, her voice breaking. Heath walked the graying man to the
door. Howard took one last look at his
patient and headed down the stairs to see Victoria. If his assumptions were correct on what Heath told him earlier,
it would not easy to break the news to the Barkleys.
Heath laid beside his wife till she fell asleep. He got up
quietly and checked on their children.
Laura had the boys napping and was reading a book to Leah. He nodded to them and backed out the door,
going downstairs. He wanted to see what
the doctor would say about Victoria.
When he arrived downstairs, he found the two good friends
talking and laughing at some old memories.
She saw Heath standing there, and held out her hand for him to sit next
to her on the arm of the chair, “Tom, come join us! We’re having the most
lovely time.” It unnerved Heath to be
called his father’s name, but he did as he was asked. He sat on the arm of the
chair and listened to the conversation.
After an hour, Howard motioned that he had to leave. He had other patients to tend to on his
travels.
“Victoria, its been a most enjoyable afternoon. I will come visit you in a couple of days, I
need to check on Janine. Those babies will making an appearance soon.” Victoria
was perplexed but nodded. “Heath can
you walk me out to my carriage? I want to talk to you about Janine.” Heath nodded and followed him out. Victoria sat in the chair, drinking her
empty cup of coffee. When they arrived to the carriage that was parked outside
the house, Doctor Merar placed his bag into it and turned to face Heath. Joining Heath was Nick, Jarrod and
Audra. They all stared at him
expectantly, wanting an answer to their questions. “I’m sorry to have to be the bearer of such news.” He looked at
all the Barkleys with tears in his eyes.
“I’m afraid your mother is suffering from senility.” They stood stalk still on the porch, Audra
turned to Jarrod and threw herself into his arms, sobbing.
“What can we do for her, Howard?” asked Jarrod, the ever practical one, but
was close to tears himself.
“There are many treatments, Jarrod. But I think the best treatment is right here
at home. Just being with her family
would be the best. I have some lithium
salts at the office that will help calm her down.” Jarrod nodded as he listened to his words. “Don’t worry, all of
you, she will be with you for a long time, but you are going to see a lot of
changes in her, you’ve already seen some.
If you have questions, any questions, please don’t hesitate to come see
me.” They all nodded and watched as the good doctor climb into his
carriage. “I will be back in a couple
of days, Heath, to check on your wife and mother in law. I will bring some medicine for Victoria as
well. Again I am sorry to bring such news to you.” He tipped his hat to the bereaved family and flicked the reins
off to see his next patient. What the
family didn’t notice, was that man’s eyes were filled with tears as he left the
Barkley estate.
Nick took the news badly.
He raved, he ranted and then he took off on Coco. He disappeared for a few hours till Chelsea
saddled up her sorrel and found him up on the mountain over looking the
ranch. She put her arms around him and
held him as he sobbed for the unfairness of life. His mother was a good, strong woman. She pioneered this part of the country with his father, he told
his wife through his tears. Chelsea
wiped his eyes with her finger and kissed his cheek. “Life always deals us bad cards.
But we need to be strong and learn how to deal with it. We have the family to keep and protect
us. You are a strong man Nicholas
Barkley. I will help you all I
can. I love you.”
He looked up at his wife and kissed her lips. “Thank ya Chel. I just never thought of my mother as being weak. She was always
there for us, loving and guiding us.
Just the thought of her being gone is hard to deal with.”
“I know Honey.”
She lifted his face to look at her.
“Let’s not borrow trouble Nick.
We will take one day at a time with her and enjoy what is.” She kissed his tear stained face. “Besides we are going to have another mouth
to feed before long.” She told him
quietly.
“What? We’re gonna have a baby?” He sprung to his feet, pulling Chelsea up with him. “Oh Chelsea! A baby?” Nick grinned
from ear to ear then picked up his wife and spun her around, kissing her. “I can’t believe it! I’m gonna be a father! I love you Chelsea!” She laughed as she was thrown in to a bear
hug.
“Nick! I can’t
breathe!”
“Oh sorry Chel.
I’m so happy” He hugged her
again, “Guess we’d better be gettin’ home.”
He helped her on to her mount then he alit on to his horse. Off they went back to the house, full of despair but happiness
because of the news they wanted to share with the family.
Jarrod held Audra as she shook with tears. “Audra, we can’t let Mother see us this
way. We have to be strong and help
her.”
“Yes Jarrod, you’re right. Its just so hard to fathom that she we’ll be slowly going away
from us.” She wiped her face, and
looked at Heath. He didn’t say
anything. Just stared out towards the paddock.
He shook his head and went in.
He had so much to deal with and it was starting to weigh him down.
Fred came to pick up Audra and found her in her old
room. Victoria was napping, Janine was
sitting with her mother. Audra went to
his arms and wept. He stroked her
blonde hair and talked to her soothingly. Through her tears she told him about
Victoria. He held her and told her that
they would get through this together.
Audra looked up at her husband and smiled through her tears. He was right, they would get through it with
the family’s love.
Jarrod was shocked at the news but he kept his emotions
under control. He went up to their room
and closed the door. He looked at Jenny
and held out his arms. He needed her
love at this moment. There was nothing better then being in his wife’s loving
arms. He sobbed as he told her what was
wrong with Victoria. Jenny held the
large man, and whispered soothing words. When Cat started to cry a while later,
Jarrod gently picked up his daughter, knowing that she would never know her
grandmother for the kind, loving person she was. He sat on the bed, staring at
the wonder that was his daughter. Jenny
leaned on him while he draped an arm over her shoulders and pulled her
close. She kissed his cheek, telling
him, “It will be all right. All of you
will stick together and help Victoria through her sickness. You’ve done it before when your father died,
you can do it again. Your mother needs you to be strong Jarrod.”
“I know Jen. But
this is Mother. Our reason for
living. The one person I can always
count on for any advice. The one that
has supported us all in our endeavours.
She has always been there.
Always Jenny!”
“Shhhhh. I know. I
know. I’m here now and while I can’t
promise you it will be an easy road, you have your mother’s love. You will never lose that. Never, Jarrod.” Jarrod sighed heavily and
leaned back. Jenny took Cat and changed
her diaper. Jarrod composed himself,
washed his face, then followed Jenny to the kitchen. Cat was hungry and he
wanted to feed her.
He was lost in his
thoughts as he fed her the bottle that Jenny had prepared. Jenny was able to hold the bottle
herself and was starting to move around
now. He was remembering when he was a
boy and would greet him at the door with a “hello, how was your day.” He would follow her into the kitchen and eat
the plate of cookies that she had baked that day. He would tell her everything that happened at school that day. He
remembered the day he left for college for the first time. She held him tightly, told him to take care
and touched his cheek. He remembered
the day his world changed, his father dying.
From there, it was just him and his mother. He shook his head out of the clouds and decided he was going to
pull everyone through this. Just like
when Father died.
Heath sat in their room by himself, trying to pull himself
together. He needed to be strong for
Janine. He wanted to give way to his
tears but he couldn’t. Janine was
staying with her parents, talking and reminiscing. He was so proud of Janine, of the way she was handling her
mother’s illness. She would not show
her that she was sad, she cared for her as if she was the child. Janine came in after a while to find Heath
laying on the bed, with his hands clasped behind his back. “How’s your mother, Janey?” He asked as she sat
beside him on the bed.
“Mama is fine. How
is Victoria? Did Dr. Merar talk to
her?” Heath nodded and turned to look
at her, his eyes glassy with unshed tears.
She held him, just as he held her when she found out about her
mother. She didn’t say anything, she
didn’t have to, it all had been said earlier.
The next few days passed in a blur. Janine spent her days
visiting her mother. Charles spent days working with Heath and Nick out on the
range, revelling at the land and enjoying the friendship that his son-in-law
and his brother offered him. Work was a
source of relief for Heath. He worked
hard, and quickly, getting a lot accomplished in one day.
When they got back to the house, the girls were all
gathered in Janine’s room, talking. As
usual they were laughing and gossiping while crocheting and knitting. Janine looked up to see Heath watching her,
she smiled and put down her knitting.
Leah was among the ladies, while Laura had the boys napping. “Papa!” Leah called to her father, the other
ladies looked up to see Nick watching his wife and smiling. Jarrod was burying himself in his work at
the office but Jenny picked up her things, said good bye to Janine and left the
room. Audra and Chelsea also said good
bye and promised to visit again soon.
Heath kissed Janine and asked how she was feeling. “I’m fine Heath. Just getting tired of lying here, but I’m not complaining. I really enjoy when everyone comes to
visit.” Heath smiled and went to wash up while Janine observed his
routine. She loved this part of the
day. He knew that she liked to watch
him, so he deliberately took his time.
She went to get up off the bed, pushing herself up with her hand. She swung her legs over the edge and grunted
to get up. Heath smiled at her through
the reflection of the mirror. Noticing for the first time that she was very
large, not that it mattered, she was beautiful and those were his babies she
was carrying.
“Need some help, my pretty?” He said still washing up.
“Now he asks!” she complained, good-naturedly, “After I
get myself up and about. Gee whiz! What a guy!” She slapped him lightly on the shoulder. He chuckled and drew her
into his arms. “I’m hungry. Is supper ready yet?” He kissed her gently.
“Pretty soon. Let me finish washing up and we’ll get the
kids and go downstairs, okay?” She reluctantly left his arms and let him finish
washing up. “By the way, I saw Howard
today. He said to tell you that he
would by tomorrow with that doctor from San Francisco. A Dr. Krauss. Apparently he is a doctor that studies Lung
Fever.”
“Oh good. I’m
curious as to what he has to say. I’m
appalled at that doctor back east. How
dare he make such an assumption.” She
was angry at the emotional upheaval she had been put through as well as her
parents.
“I know how ya feel Janey. It was wrong for the doctor to give your parents wrong
information. It’s taking all I got, not to hop on the next train and have a
talk to that doctor.” Janine smiled, he
was always so protective of everybody he loved. Finally he was ready to go downstairs. He took her hand and headed her out the door toward the babies’
room.
The supper was delicious and Janine decided to join the
others in the pool room for after dinner drinks. Of course she didn’t indulge, but she brought out her knitting
and gossiped with the family. She
stayed for about an hour then went upstairs to visit with her mother before
bed.
Marge was lying in bed when Janine knocked. She hadn’t been eating much, but was looking
a little better. She had managed some broth, but still coughed a lot and her
pallor still pale. “Evenin’ Mama. How
you feelin’?” Marge turned her head and
watched her daughter ease herself into the overstuffed chair next to the bed.
“Fine Daughter.
May I ask how you’re feeling?”
Another coughing spasm shook her body.
Janine looked worried but it was soon over. “I’m okay. My chest gets
so sore from coughing so much.”
“I’m feelin’ fine Mama.
My back is starting to hurt from carrying all this weight I reckon.”
Marge watched her daughter has she shifted uncomfortably in the chair. “Though
my back is now hurting more then it was. Do ya reckon maybe it’s time?”
“Maybe. Go to bed, daughter. I’ll be okay.” Janine reached over and squeezed her mother’s
hand. “I love you Janine.”
“I love ya too Mama.
You rest and I’ll see ya soon. Oh, I wanted to tell ya. Heath informed me that he spoke to Dr. Merar
and that doctor from Frisco will be here tomorrow. They will be stopping out to check on you.” Her mother nodded as she watched her daughter
leave the room. The strain of the babies’ weight pulling heavily on her stomach
muscles causing her to groan involuntarily.
Marge wanted to go to her, but she was physically unable to. She needed her rest and knew that the others
would be there to help her. She cried
into her pillow, then made a decision, she would be there to hold her
daughter’s hand. It was the least she could do.
She crawled into bed, lying there thinking about the
babies. It was a little early for the
babies yet. But could it be that they
were ready to be born? She got up and
checked on her children. She checked on
Leah first, who was snuggled deep into her blankets with a smile pasted upon
her face. Janine planted a kiss on the
sleeping girl’s face and tucked her in.
She just couldn’t imagine life without her little girl. She smiled and
closed the door as she exited the room.
Next she checked on the boys. David had thrown the blankets off and was sucking his thumb. She covered him up and pulled out the
thumb. She placed a gentle kiss on his
forehead. She looked on Freddy, and he
was covered up, breathing silently, indicating he was sleeping peacefully. She
watched him sleep, thinking that he was special, even though his real parents
had real problems. She thought about
what his life would have been like if both parents would have lived. He would have had a miserable life, she
decided. Not knowing from one minute to
the other what mood his mother would be in.
Not knowing his father. She
shook her head. No! He will be happy and if he asks, I will tell
him about his parents. She left the room, happy that she had such a great
family, no matter how they came to be part of it. She kissed his soft cheek and
caressed his hair. She left the room
silently, leaving the door ajar.
She lay back on her bed, pillows behind her head when she
felt a wetness on the bed. “Oh no!” she
thought worriedly. She maneuvered
herself to a sitting position. She didn’t know what to do. Just then Heath wandered into the room,
looking worn out from working so hard.
She gasped at the sudden intensity of the pain in her abdomen. Heath observed his wife then went out of the
room to get Victoria.
He came back a few minutes later with Victoria, Chelsea
and Jenny. “Victoria! I’m all wet!” she told her. Victoria seemed her normal self as she set to work.
“Janine, I think the babies are ready to be born and
soon. Heath can you send for
Howard?” Victoria was gruff in her
orders to Jenny, to get some boiling water for the things she needed. Janine
groaned at the pain as it was getting stronger and stronger. “Breathe, Janine. Take short quick breaths when the pain comes, all right?” Janine nodded as Heath left the room to send
for the doctor.
Heath knocked on the door of his parents-in-law’s
room. He heard Charles call come in and
he entered. “I just wanted to let ya
know. Janine is having the babies now.” Then he abruptly turned and left the room
seeking for someone to get the doctor.
He felt a tap on his shoulder, there was Charles, saying he would go and
would he escort Marge to their room so she could at least sit with her
daughter. Heath nodded and bounded up the stairs two at a time. He took Marge to their room and kissed
Janine quickly. He wanted to stay but
the room was already crowded with all the women in the room and he felt he
would be in the way. He went slowly
down the stairs only to find his brothers waiting for him.
“Come Heath. Its
gonna be a while before those babies make an appearance. Let’s go play some pool”
They all adjourned to the pool room where Nick racked up the balls and Heath
broke. He was not concentrating at all
but he tried his best. He missed shot
after shot and his brothers just played along, knowing his brother was
extremely anxious for his new children.
Jarrod and Nick smiled at each other.
Twins, now that is exciting! Jarrod thought as he lined up his next
shot. After the game was over, Heath hung up his pool cue and headed towards
the stairs.
Nick stopped him. “where ya goin’ brother?”
“I wanna go see Janey.”
“Now ya know better then that. Those women are going to shoo ya out of their quicker then
anything.” Heath sighed, knowing he was right.
He hated the waiting and the hour was getting later and later. He heard screams every now and again, making
him shudder. He hated to hear his wife
in pain, knowing that there was nothing he could do about it. It was nature and he had to be patient.
The door opened and in walked Charles and Dr. Merar. Dr. Merar nodded to the nervous father and
his brothers and bounded up the stairs, seeking out the room where Janine
was. It had been about six hours since
she discovered that the babies were to be born soon. It was getting close and Janine was in constant pain with what
she now knew were contractions. The
doctor took over from Victoria, telling her to rest. She had beads of perspiration running down her forehead.
“Okay Janine, its almost time. Are you ready to push?”
She nodded and groaned. “When I tell you, you push all right?” She nodded again and when Dr. Merar told her
to push, she complied. Before long
there was a wail and a baby was born.
He handed the baby to Jenny to clean up while he went back to
Janine. After another ten minutes the
second one was born. Janine heard the
wail of both babies and smiled.
“Congratulations Janine. Here
are your babies.” He handed the last one to Janine while Jenny held the other. She had a big smile on her face.
“Can someone get Heath? He must be frantic down there, not
knowing what’s goin’ on.” Chelsea
nodded and left the room, searching for her brother-in-law. She found him, downstairs, trying to
concentrate on a game of cards with his brothers and Charles.
“Heath?” He looked
up, expectantly at Chelsea, blue eyes searching brown. “Janine would like to
see you.” He jumped up, cards flying
everywhere and bounded up the stairs.
His actions caused the others to laugh.
“Guess he’s excited.” Commented Charles with a big
grin. The others nodded in
agreement. Chelsea went into Nick’s
arms, she was shaking in excitement.
“That was truly amazing, Nick. I can’t wait till ours is born.” She whispered into his ear while
hugging him tightly. “I’m not so
frightened anymore.” Nick embraced her and smiled. He couldn’t wait to see the newest additions to the family.
Heath threw open the door and there was his wife, holding
a baby. “Hi Heath. How are you?” She asked him like nothing out
of the ordinary had happened. He looked
about the room and there was the other baby, being held by Jenny. He sat on the bed, and she said, “Meet your
son, Heath. Isn’t he gorgeous?” He nodded and kissed her on the cheek. “Jenny has your daughter.” He held out his arms while Jenny handed him
the daughter. “Beautiful, my pretty,
simply beautiful!” He was in awe of their perfect twins.
“They are healthy, Heath and Janine. There should be no complications at all with
either of them. They are of good weight
and size for twins so I don’t anticipate any problems.” The parents nodded, and
their eyes drifted back their babies.
They felt very blessed. The
others quietly cleaned up the mess as Heath and Janine admired the newest
additions. “I’ll be back in a couple of
hours. Mrs. Greene, I think you should
go to bed now. Dr. Krauss will be here
in just a few hours.”
She nodded, and
stood up. “Janine” she coughed away
from the babies. “I am proud of you
Daughter. When you get them named, let me know, okay? I must go and rest now. I
am really tired.”
The couple nodded
and Janine grasped her hand, “Thank you Mama.
I’m happy you were here. You
rest and I’ll see you later.”
Marge patted her hand then leaned forward to kiss her
forehead. “You done good, Janine. I’m
very proud of you.” This last part
brought tears to Janine’s eyes as she watched her mother warily leave the
room. She hated seeing her mother in
this condition. She leaned her head against Heath.
“What are we going to name the babies, Heath. We can’t call them Baby one and Baby two,
you know!” She looked up at her
husband. “How does Nicholas Jarrod
Charles and Rachel Marjorie sound to you?”
“You’ve given this a great deal of thought, haven’t ya?”
He asked wiping a lock of hair from her face. She smiled but didn’t say
anything. “Yep. That sounds mighty fine. I’m so proud of ya Janine.”
“How bout you go show them off to the rest of the family.
Boy howdy, I’m exhausted.” She handed
Little Nicky to Heath as he kissed her.
“I love ya, Heath. We done good.”
“I love ya too, my pretty. We sure did, Janey. We
sure did.” With that he took the babies
downstairs and introduced them to the rest of the family. Audra had arrived
with Fred and was amazed she had missed the birth.
“What beautiful babies, Heath.” They both started to wake up, crying just a little. Audra took
little Rachel and held her up to her cheek.
“I can’t wait till my baby is born. They are so tiny. You had better take them back to
Janine. Give her my love and tell her
I’ll see her in a day or two, will ya?”
She hugged Heath as he headed up the stairs. When he got back to the room, Janine had
fallen asleep, exhausted from the day’s events. She woke up when he gently sat on the bed, little Nicky
crying. She took him from her husband
and fed him. He ate hungrily while Rachel slept in her father’s arms. “Five children, Heath! Just what have we gotten ourselves
into?”
He smiled as he watched her feed Little Nicky. “I’m so glad we have Laura. She’ll be a big
help once we get home.” Little Nicky fell asleep then Rachel woke up wanting to
be fed. “I see this is going to be a
lot of work, Janey.” She smiled at him
as she fed Rachel. He laid Little Nicky
in one of the cribs by the bed. He took
Rachel and kissed her forehead, laying her down in the other crib. He took off his boots and crawled into
bed. Janine crawled into his arms and
they held each other. They kissed each
other, then fell into an exhausted sleep, until a loud knock sounded on the
door.
Heath rose from the bed, just got the door opened, when
Leah came running in, stopping as soon
she saw the babies. “Mama? Are those ares?” she asked quietly.
“Yes Leah. Meet
your brother, Nicholas Jarrod Charles and your sister, Rachel Marjorie.” Janine smiled as she watched Leah peer into
the cradle and place a kiss on each baby’s cheek.
“They cute, Mama.
Those were in your bewwy?”
“Yes Leah.”
“The ones that made you cwy?”
“Yes Leah” Janine sighed as Leah asked question after
question.
Janine yawned just as Leah asked if she could hold
Rachel. “They are too small yet, Leah,
“ interjected Heath who saw that Janine was about ready to fall asleep. “Let’s
go get some breakfast and bring some back for Mama. She needs her rest for a little while longer.”
“Okay Papa. Wove
you Mama” She placed her tiny hand into
her father’s larger masculine hand.
Hand in hand the pair left the room to get some food into their bellies
and see the rest of the family.
The doctor from San Francisco arrived on the train and Dr.
Merar brought him to the ranch house. Dr. Krauss was a middle aged man, tall
and gangly. He wore a black derby which
covered a crop sandy coloured hair and a black doctoring suit. Jarrod let them in and directed them
upstairs to the guest room where the Greenes were staying. Dr. Krauss
examined Marge with great care.
He used his stethoscope, checking her breathing, checked her pulse,
temperature, then asked questions.
“Mrs. Greene, have you had a cold for a long time?”
“yes” She had a
coughing spasm which Dr. Krauss took note of.
“Do you get frequent chest pains like you’re being stabbed?”
“Yes sometimes.”
“How often?”
“lately a lot more then before. Maybe once a day a day. It stays for a while then disappears.”
“Do you get a lot of headaches?” She nodded.
“I feel so weak all the time, I want to be with my
daughter and her new babies, but every time I try to get up, I almost faint.”
“Thank you Mrs. Greene.
You rest now.”
“Doctor, what’s wrong with me? Am I going to die?”
“No. You’re not going to die. But when I listened to your chest, I heard a rattle, indicating
you have lung fever. You had a bad cold
and it settled in your chest, all the other symptoms you have described to me
lead me to believe you have trouble on your chest. It will go away but it will come back with the same stabbing
pain.” Dr. Merar listened carefully to
all that the other doctor was telling his patient.
“What can she do to ease the pain doctor?” Charles asked, taking his wife’s hand.
“When the pain hits her, she should lay on the side that
is sore on a firm surface. This will
help ease the pain some. You can give
her mustard plasters or flax seed poultices upon her chest as well. You just have to wait it out. Dr. Merar can
give you laudanum if you think its real severe.”
“So there is nothing else we can do?” Charles look dejected, but glad it wasn’t
consumption. That was hard to deal
with, and this was difficult but she would be around for a while longer to
enjoy life with him.
“No there isn’t.
Just make her comfortable when the attacks happen. I’ll leave you some medicine for the lung
fever, and in about ten days, she should be up.” He smiled at her, “Good luck
Mrs. Greene. When you feel better, come see me in my office in San
Francisco.”
Charles rose from his chair and shook the doctor’s
hand. “Thank you Dr. Krauss. When we
get back to New York that doctor is really going to hear from me. Imagine
scaring us like that!”
“Unfortunately its doctors like them, that give us a bad
name.” Dr. Merar thanked the doctor as well. Charles told his wife that he
would be right back and walked the two doctors downstairs.
“Thank you doctors for looking at my wife. I respect your opinions and we will come to
San Francisco in a month or so.” The
doctors looked at the rest of the family and nodded towards them as they left
out the door. Charles closed the door behind him and went upstairs. He was going to check on his wife and then
talk to Janine. She needed to hear what the doctor had to say and he hadn’t
seen his newest grandchildren yet.
Janine was eating her breakfast while Heath looked at his
newest children. He picked up Little
Nicky, and held him snugly. “Janey, we make beautiful babies” he commented as
he put Little Nicky down and picked up Rachel.
She smiled and put her fork down. Heath brought Rachel over to Janine, handing
her over. Janine smiled as they admired
both the twins. They had very dark
crown of hair, though it was a little early to tell who they looked like,
Janine thought they looked like both of
them. There was a knock on the
door, and in walked Laura with the boys.
She put the boys down on the floor and admired the newest members of her
charges.
“Janine, theys simply beautiful. Jest beautiful.” Cooed the black nanny. She took Rachel from Janine and held her in her arms. The little baby was almost hidden in her
large black arms. Janine smiled as Laura started singing, “Rock a bye baby on
the tree top, when the wind blows the cradle will rock. But when the bough breaks, down will come
baby cradle and all” Heath and Janine smiled as the boys clambered around
getting into stuff. Heath got up off
the bed and hugged David. Then he
gathered up Freddy and held them both, bringing back to the bed, so that Janine
could play with them a little.
Janine laughed at their antics, trying to get off the bed
but Heath always caught them just before the crawled off. They giggled at this game and kept it up for
a while. Laura handed the baby back to
Janine so she could feed him and took Little Nicky from her. She held the baby, rocking him to and fro
while singing some tunes that Janine remembered from her childhood.
Kum ba yah, my Lord
Kum ba yah
Kum ba yah, my Lord
Kum ba yah
Kum ba yah, my Lord
Kum ba yah
O Lord, kum ba yah
Someone’s crying, Lord
Kum ba yah
Someone’s singing, Lord
Kum ba yah
Someone’s praying, Lord
Kum ba yah
The soft tones of the nanny’s voice were soothing to
parents and children. Heath and Janine
smiled to one another, nodding. Heath
was taken back to his childhood when Hannah would sing the same songs to
him. I have to remember to thank Marge
and Charles, mused Heath. Leah also sat on the bed beside her mother, listening
to Laura sing.
“That’s bootaful, Lawa.
Pwease more?” Laura gave Little
Nicky to Heath and took both the boys’ hands.
“No, Leah. It’s time to clean yore room. Come long now. Mammy and Pappy need to rest.” Leah tried to put on her best sulk
face but Laura wasn’t having none of it. “Leah, if youse help with yore room,
we can do somethin’ special, all right?”
“Special? Like
make bwead pudding?” Leah smacked her
lips.
“Shore thing Angel.
Now kiss mammy and pappy and lets go work.” Leah dutifully kissed her parents and followed Laura to her
room.
Charles knocked on the door, and Janine motioned him
in. He smiled, kissing his daughter,
“How are you Sweetheart?”
“I’m good now Papa.
Happy very happy. Have a look at the babies. Aren’t they just something?”
She gushed with happiness.
Charles couldn’t help but be proud of her. She has grown into a beautiful, loving woman, he thought.
“And what are their names, Janine?” When she told them
their names he smiled. “Thank you” he
said quietly. “Marge wants to see the
babies but she is quite tired. When she
feels better, she will come see you.”
Janine nodded. “What did the doctor say Papa? Is she gonna be okay?”
“Mama is going to be fine. She has lung fever.
She’ll still be sick for a long time but she is going to be with us for
a long time yet.” Charles looked at her
daughter, lying in the bed, with a huge smile on her face and tears in her
eyes.
“Oh Papa! I’m so
happy. I was so worried….”
“Hush Honey. I
know. Me too. But things will be good
now. I promise” Heath looked at father and daughter with
tears in his eyes. He felt so relieved
that things were going to be all right with Janine and her family. New babies, a new lease on life for his
mother-in-law. Then he saddened. If
only something positive could help Mother, he thought woefully. He held Janine’s hand as she held their
daughter in her arms.
They made small talk and after a while Charles decided it
was time to leave. “Tell Mama, I’ll be
by to see her later on. I just need a
nap. So tired,” she told her father.
He placed a kiss on her forehead and stroked her hair like
he did when she was a little girl. “I
love you Daughter,” he said, his voice full of emotion, “We are so proud of
you, you know.” She simply stared at
him. Heath took Rachel as she hugged
her father tightly to her, never wanting to let go.
“I love you too Papa.
Go now. Go to Mama. She needs you. I will see you a little later.”
He smiled at her and stood up.
He nodded his thanks to Heath and left the room, happy that his little
family had expanded.
Janine and Heath lay upon the bed, hugging each
other. They were glad to be alone once
more, knowing that they soon would be bombarded by visitors in the next couple
of days. They both yawned, the
excitement and stress of the last couple of days finally catching up to
them. They murmured to each other about
how happy they were, sleep slowly overtaking them.
About a week later, Audra was visiting Janine, who was
enjoying the fact that she can get up and walk around. She went outside with
the twins and Laura brought out the rest of the children and they went for a
walk around the gardens. The boys were
running around the gardens while Leah stayed next to her mother. Laura took hold of their hands and made them
walk with her while Janine pushed the stroller with the twins.
Audra stopped every few minutes to rub her back. “Audra are you okay?” Janine asked her
friend in concern.
“Yes, I’m fine.” She replied, “I need to sit for a
bit.” Janine bit her lip as she watched
the blonde woman struggle to sit on the wooden bench. She fidgeted around for a while then stood up. “I think I’m going
back into the house, Janey. I don’t
feel so good and the pain is starting to worsen.”
Everyone turned and went back to the house taking Audra
back to her old room so she could lie down.
Janine put the twins to sleep in their cribs and headed off to find
Victoria. She found Victoria sitting in
the living room, talking to herself.
“Victoria?” she said cautiously.
Jarrod walked into the house just then.
“Victoria, I need you upstairs.
Audra is ready to have her baby!” She was getting impatient.
“Audra is upstairs?”
“YES!” she shouted then calmed down. “I think we need the doctor.” She headed
upstairs to tend to Audra and to find her sisters-in-law. She found them each in their rooms and they
all went to tend to Audra. Victoria
came in after awhile, confused and dazed. Audra was crying because the pain was
getting more intense and the three girls looked at each other. “We can do this, girls. I just had twins! I think I can remember what to do.” She joked. The girls looked at Janine in awe.
After a few hours, Dr. Merar came up and took over much to
the girls’ relief. Dr. Merar
observed Victoria who was busy talking
to herself but every time Audra moaned and groaned, she turned an observant eye
to her daughter. She sat beside Audra and held her hand. A few hours later in
the wee hours of the morning, Audra gave birth.
Fred came quietly in to see the new member of the
family. “Hi Fred. Meet your son.” She handed him the baby and he was leery of holding him. “Its okay Fred, he won’t break.”
“He looks just like you Audra.” Fred was in awe, being an only child, he wasn’t used to
babies. He gave him back to Audra when
he cried. “I’m afraid I am going to
drop him.” Was his only comment. She
laughed wearily, and fed the baby. “He
needs a name, don’t you think?”
“I’ve been thinking of that Honey. How does Douglas Thomas Henry sound?” Fred thought about it and nodded.
“Both middle names are our father’s. I like it.
Douglas Thomas Henry Benedict welcome to our family.” He caressed the
baby’s bald head. “Do you think he is
going to have hair?”
Audra laughed, “Of course Fred, he will change lots.”
“Whew! I thought
he was going to be bald forever!” he teased her. “I love you Audra
Victoria Benedict.” He said quietly as he kissed her. She smiled and kissed him back, happy to
know that they had another addition to their family. Victoria had gone to bed after seeing the baby. She didn’t seem to impressed that there was
another new addition, making Audra feeling a little sad.
“Maybe she will be back to normal tomorrow, Fred. I feel so bad, that she didn’t even
acknowledge Douglas.” They put the baby
into the crib and held each other while Audra sobbed. She was not used to her mother not being there when she needed
her.
All the Barkley offspring watched their mother with
trepidation. They really didn’t know
what to expect from one day to the next.
Some days she was so much like herself, it made for a happy house. She baked, made special meals, sewed with
the women of the household. She
laughed, and gossiped with them, going to afternoon socials. On these days, Jarrod sat her down and
explained what the doctor told them weeks ago.
She was angry that this was happening to her. She cried and kept her anger in private. She was scared but there was nothing she
could do about it.
During these times she would sit in her chair and think
about her long lost husband, Tom. She
thought about him a lot more these days and what is was like when they were
first settled in the west. They had
lots of adventures together, built the ranch up from nothing to something
grand. Tom stood by his values and
fought for the good of the people. He died fighting for what he thought was
right.
Victoria wiped
tears from her eyes and remembered the
day her oldest son was born. She went
to the drawer and pulled out a baby picture of Jarrod. She caressed it lovingly, thinking about
him. He was a kind, gentle soul that
looked at life in different ways. He
always sought out the good in people and held no prejudices. She was so proud when he married Jenny, it
showed the strength of his convictions.
He worked and played passionately, he held the family together when Tom
had died tragically so long ago. Jarrod
held a special place in her heart. All
her children were special to her but Jarrod was the one she could always count
on to get her through the rough spots in her life including this one.
She found a baby picture of Nick and smiled when she
thought of all the scrapes he had gotten himself into through his growing
years. Never one to sit still, he loved
the land and had no use for school. He
was always rambunctious and loved with a passion. He would hang on to that love
and when something happened to it, he was badly hurt. He had the generous soul of his father, always giving more of
himself, and expecting less in return. When Tom died, he hurt and poured
himself into the ranch, trying to do the work of two men. He was a good boss, he barked orders but
never gave more to the hands then what he would do himself. Nick worked hard, played hard but he was a
good man. Victoria smiled when she
thought of his wife, Chelsea. She was a
good woman, loved with a passion and often put Nick in his place when it was
needed.
Heath, she thought, not her son by blood but by her
husband’s love for another woman. He
was so much like Tom. His mannerisms, his smile, his love for all things. Heath had to fight Nick to have a place in
the family but the fight was well worth it.
She couldn’t imagine life without the quiet man. He loved with a passion, worked hard and
never took anything for granted. She
smiled as she looked at the family picture she had taken when he had been with
the family for a few years. When he
married Janine, his life seemed a lot happier and she loved him the same
way. Never taking, always giving, both stubborn and a zest for life rarely
seen in the west. Their children were a good example of their love for all
things.
She rifled through her drawer and found a baby picture of
Audra. Her last born, her only
girl. They were very close and while
growing up Audra depended a lot on her mother.
Audra was thought to be spoiled, her brothers had a hand in spoiling
her, but she had a great passion for animals and children. She spent many hours working with the
orphaned children and taught school on occasion. She met and married Fred, making Victoria very proud. Audra had a penance for picking the wrong
men, or her brothers would try to protect her from the men she dated. She hated the fact that she had so many
brothers and many times her beaus were intimidated by the brothers’
presence. Fred stuck by his guns and
eventually married Audra. The brothers
had to agree he wasn’t half bad for their sister.
As she sat thinking about her children tears rolled down
her face as she thought about what Jarrod had told her. She was slowly losing her mind, and there
wasn’t anything she could do about it.
But she knew that her children would look after her. They would protect her and do what they
could for her. She would have to make
sure all her affairs were in order before she couldn’t function normally. Until then, she would live her life as she
always did, grieving for herself in private but keeping a stiff upper lip in
public. She wouldn’t let this get her
down, her children needed her as much as she needed them.
Janine was a lot happier now that she could be outside,
doing all the things she wanted to do.
Laura took care of the babies while she went outside and helped Leah
with her pony. Heath taught her how to
saddle the pony and was teaching her to ride.
Leah proudly showed off to her mother her riding skills. Janine sat on the fence and watched her
daughter ride, a big smile on her face.
As she sat on the fence, watching her daughter, she felt a
presence beside her before she heard, “Boy howdy she’s gettin’ good!.” Janine smiled and patted the fence next to
her. He climbed up beside her, putting
his work gloves into his back pocket.
They sat in silence watching their first born, each showing the pride on
their faces. “How’s the day treatin’ ya, my pretty?” he asked her moving
closer, placing a kiss on her cheek.
She glanced at him sitting there, with his half grin
pasted on his face, watching his daughter.
“It’s great to be out of my room and outside Heath. I’ve been watching Leah for a while, I think
its time I went in and checked on the babies though. Laura must be wondering where I went to.” She motioned to Leah to come see her, and
she jumped down into the paddock.
“Leah!”
“Yeah Mama?”
“You’re doing good.”
“Thank you Mama.”
She observed her parents sitting side by side on the fence. “You gonna go in?”
“Yes Sweetheart. I
have to feed the babies and relieve Laura for a while. I reckon she’ll need a holiday soon, don’t
ya think, Heath?”
“I reckon so, Janey,” agreed Heath. “Lil One, I reckon its
time to take care of Star.”
“Awww Papa. Me
wanna wide more.” Heath smiled at the
look his daughter was giving him, making him weak. “I was always a sucker for a
pretty face,” he told her, “Only for a little while, it’s getting close to
lunch.”
Janine kissed Heath then headed back into the house. She glanced behind her, and saw that Heath
was watching their daughter ride, giving instructions when she seemed to
falter. She smiled and continued to the
house. Yes, I’m lucky to have such a
thoughtful, caring husband, who has such patience.
All was not going well when she entered the house. Laura had the boys downstairs and they were
running around, making a huge mess. The
babies were crying, and immediately Janine felt guilty. Cat was being fed by Jenny and Audra had her
son and feeding him. She picked up
Little Nicky and Rachel, finding their
bottles made all ready, she tried to feed them both. Propping Little Nicky up on the couch, with pillows she fed him
the bottle while feeding Rachel in her arms.
This was tougher then she thought.
After a while Leah and Heath came in for lunch which Silas
had prepared. Chicken soup and roast beef sandwiches. Victoria swept into the room and went into the billiards
room. Everyone looked at each other,
then Heath sped after her. When he
caught up to her she was pouring the bottles of wine onto the floor. Heath slowly approached her and grasped the
bottles. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,
Mother.” She turned to look at him,
throwing him a vicious stare. He
stepped back when she attacked him, slapping him, screaming at him then burst
out crying when he grabbed her arms to stop the attack.
He guided her back to the settee and sat with her, rocking
her as she sobbed. She looked around the room, but did not know what she did,
till Heath explained to her. “I can’t take more of this Heath.” she told him,
her voice cracking.
He nodded, knowing how she felt but he needed to say
something to reassure her. “Mother.
Don’t worry. No matter what
happens, we’re all here to help ya.
You’re not goin’ through this alone.
You have Jarrod, Nick, Audra and me. We love you and will always take
care of ya. Janey and I will be moving
back to our house soon, but I’ll be here everyday. Mother if I never told ya before, but I’ve been real happy since
I found ya. Ya made me feel welcome
when I first came here.”
Hearing this son
of her husband’s speak when he was usually quiet, was a wonder to her. He meant the words from the bottom of his
heart and it brought tears to her eyes.
She reached up and touched his rough face. “Thank you son, you brought completeness to my life. You are something else, my son.” She got up, reached her hand to his and they
walked out of the room. She seemed like
her self for at least a while to enjoy
her extended family.
Heath took Rachel from Janine and finished feeding her
while she changed Little Nicky’s diaper.
She placed him in the crib then picked up David who was begging to be
lifted up. He was starting to talk now,
saying mama, papa, hi, were among his limited vocabulary. Janine smiled as he
gurgled some other words and she tossed him around a little. She brought David and picked up Freddy
taking them into the dining room to eat lunch.
The rest followed suit and lunch was eaten in a leisurely fashion.
After lunch Laura and Janine put the children to bed and
Leah followed her mother around the house. “Mama?”
“Yes Leah.”
“Can we see Gama Marg”
Janine nodded and went to the guest room and knocked on the door. They heard an audible voice telling them to
come in. They entered the room and
Marge was sitting up looking a lot better then a few days before. “Hi Gama.
How you feelin’?”
“Hi Leah. I feel
fine. How are you?”
“I good.” Janine
sat in the overstuffed chair beside the bed while Leah sat on the beside her
gramma. “I is so glad you’re better.
Maybe we pway sometime?” The
grandmother nodded her silver haired head and listened as her granddaughter
spoke about Star and all the things Papa was teaching her. “You watch me?” she asked.
“Yes maybe tomorrow I’ll come watch you. Janine, Papa and I will be coming downstairs
for supper. I feel so much better.”
Janine smiled and hugged her mother.
“I’m so happy, but don’t overdo it okay Mama?” Oh Gosh!
I sound just like my husband, she thought, smiling. “Do you want to go downstairs and sit? I know what its like to be laid up for so
long.” Marge nodded eagerly. Charles had been helping Heath and Nick
learning about the ranch and what goes into taking care of such a large spread.
Charles was riding the fence line with Heath when he
noticed the man droop forward on his mount.
“Heath are you okay?” When Heath sat up and looked at his father-in-law he
saw that he wasn’t well. All the stress
of the last few months had taken their toll on Heath. “Come on Son, let’s get you home.”
Heath shook his head and rode on. He felt weak but he refused to give in to
his sickness. The last few months he had been putting his feelings aside and
trying to be strong for everyone.
Strong for his wife, who was carrying his babies. Worried about the pregnancy and what would
happen once the actual birthing happened.
He worried with her about her mother, and was relieved that she was
going to be okay. Most of all, worried
about his step mother. She was having
more off days then on. He felt guilty
about wanting to move back to his own place and leaving the care of Victoria to
Nick and Jarrod.
Charles rode along side of the cowboy, worrying about
him. He is a stubborn one, he thought
to himself. He had to get Heath home
and wasn’t quite how to break through his stubborn shell. “Heath you aren’t going to do my daughter
and grandchildren any good if you get sick.”
Heath stopped. He knew that, he
just wasn’t thinking properly. He
hadn’t eaten all day as his stomach just wouldn’t accept food. He actually hadn’t been feeling good for a
couple of days but he didn’t let on to anybody. Even Janine didn’t realize. She
was too busy with the children.
After a while, Heath turned Charger around, nodding to
Charles and headed back home. He really
didn’t feel well. When they got back,
he handed the reins to Ciego and headed into the house. He went upstairs, barely acknowledging
anyone and flopped on the bed. He
had to admit it, he was sick.
Janine followed him upstairs and saw him laying on the
bed, shivering, with a glassy look in his eyes. She touched his forehead and gasped. He was burning up. She gently took his boots off, and got him to
lay under the blankets. “Heath why didn’t ya tell me you were sick?”
“I didn’t want to worry ya.”
“What is it you’re always tellin’ me?”
“I dunno. What do
I tell ya?” He asked wearily, barely able to keep his eyes open.
“We are married and we aren’t supposed to hide things from
one another, member?” he simply nodded and closed his eyes. She caressed his hair lovingly, “We’ll
discuss it later. Right now, you
rest. I’m gonna go talk to your
brothers for a minute or two. Be right back.”
He nodded and in a minute he was sleeping. She couldn’t believe it.
He never falls asleep like that, he must be sick, she mused as she left
the room in search of Nick and Jarrod.
“Oh Nick, so glad to run into you. Heath is sick. Can you send someone for the
doctor?” Janine was wringing her hands
and pacing. She was not used to her husband being sick.
“Calm down Neen.
I’ll send someone for Howard then see if Mother is able to see to
Heath. Okay?” She nodded. Nick put his
arm around Janine’s shoulders. “Don’t
worry he’s gotten sick before and always pulled through. Go sit with him. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
She hugged him back and thanked him. “I’m such a ninny
when it comes to him being sick. I feel so helpless.” Nick smiled faintly. She opened the bedroom door and went in.
Heath was still sleeping, so she took a cold cloth and wiped his forehead. She
placed a kiss on his cheek and he moaned.
“I love you Heath. Get well
soon. I can’t stand to see ya layin’
here like this.” She sat beside him,
wiping his brow, and holding his hand and talking quietly till Nick came in
with Victoria.
“Oh Tom,” she said as she took the cloth from Janine and
wiped his brow. Janine looked at her
mother-in-law quizzically but wouldn’t let go of Heath’s hand. “Tom I told you
that you shouldn’t be out in this weather.
Oh Tom!” she moaned. Victoria sat beside Heath, talking to him as if he
were Tom. After a while, Nick managed
to convince Victoria to get some rest.
He would look after him. Victoria reluctantly agreed and swept out of
the room.
Howard entered the room and immediately assessed the
situation. He pulled out his stethoscope and checked his chest. He felt his head, and his pulse. Then put
his tools back into his black bag and looked at Janine, motioning her out in
the hall. “Heath will be okay. He is just exhausted, with all that has been
happening lately. Let him sleep, he
really needs it. Then tell him to take
a few days off from working. Just
relax.”
“How long before his fever comes down?”
“Can’t tell you that but keep an eye on him and keep the
cool cloths on him. When he wakes up,
feed him broth. I don’t think he’s
eaten much in the last few days.”
“Thank you so much Howard.” She shook his hand. He
tipped his hat at her and descended down the stairs. Nick was still sitting with his brother, mopping his brow and
speaking quietly to him.
“Hey Little Brother, I seen Joey the other day. He is one mighty big boy now. He said to say howdy and wants to know when
he can work with us.” Janine smiled,
Heath had introduced her to Joey and told her the story of how they came to
know him. Her husband had a big heart
and could never refuse a child. He said
if he had been married, he would have taken the boy himself. Janine put her hand on Nick’s shoulder and
squeezed gently. Nick looked up and saw
that she had tears in her eyes.
“Let me look after him now, Nick. Doc said he would be okay. He’s just exhausted. You go so see Chelsea,
she needs you.” Nick smiled faintly at
her, very proud of this sister-in-law of his.
He placed his large hand on hers and squeezed. “Thank ya Nick. You’re a
good brother.”
Nick looked forlornly at his brother and left the
room. He opened the door to his room
and saw that his wife was laying on their bed, waiting for him to come in. She held out her arms to him and he went
into them happily. They held each
other, and spoke quietly to her about Heath.
“He was trying too hard not to show his feelings, Chel. It made him sick. So Neen is there looking
after him and sent me back here.”
“I’m glad she did. I missed you Nick” She kissed him passionately, savoring his
salty taste. He moaned and found her
lips, kissing her back just as passionately. Without realizing what was
happening, they had shed their clothes and their passions overtook them. They lay there, on top of the blankets,
caressing each other, kissing and murmuring between the kisses. They spoke of the baby and what they
expected to be like when they became parents.
They laughed at the stories Nick told her about when he was a boy. She told him a few stories as well. “We were quite the kids, wouldn’t ya say,
Chel?”
“We sure were Nicky.
I think Mama kept me doing chores all the time, just because of my
attitude. I was a surly child.”
“You surly?
Never!” Nick pretended to be surprised. She slapped his bare chest then
kissed it. “I love you Chelsea.” She
kissed his chest and worked her way up to his lips, making him groan with
pleasure. She giggled quietly as she
nibbled on his ear. “Chelsea! The way you make me feel!” She wrapped her
arms around his neck and snuggled closer.
Once again they gave in to their passions and fell asleep soon after.
Jarrod checked on Heath a little while later, only to find
Janine laying beside him sleeping. He
checked Heath’s forehead and found that he was cooling down. He smiled at the sleeping couple and left
the room. He went to his room and found
Jenny reading a book. She looked over
the book and smiled at her husband. He
undressed for bed and crawled under the covers. He stuck his head under her book and grinned at her. She giggled as he looked up at her and snuck
a kiss the curve of her neck. She held
the book open over his back and tried to read over his head. It didn’t work as he was distracting her
with his kisses.
“Are you going to put the book away?”
“Why Jarrod?”
“Because I want to talk”
retorted the lawyer sitting up and brushing hair out of her face.
“About what?”
“About Mother” She put the book down and looked at her
husband whose eyes were filling with tears as he thought about her. He sat up and drew her into his arms. She
put her arms around him and held him tight as he spoke the words she knew he
was going to say. “I want to stay in
Stockton. Raise our children here. We can build a house on the ranch.”
“And your practice in San Francisco?” She held her breath, she didn’t want him to
give it up. He worked too hard to give
it up now.
“I’ll keep it. We
will go once a month and stay for a couple of weeks, keeping close contact with
the family. So that if anything happens, we can be right back with in a few
hours.” Jenny nodded, caressing his
chest absentmindedly, thinking about what he said.
She slowly nodded, turning around and faced him. “I love you Jarrod. I will do whatever it is what you want or
need to do. I understand the need for
you to stay and help your mother. I
will support you in this. Your family
needs you. I would love to have a house
of our own but its not necessary. We
can stay right here.”
“Jenny! You will
have your house, it may take a while, but you will have your house. I love you as well, pretty lady.” He kissed
her passionately then turned out the light..
Worried about Victoria and now Heath, it was a long time before they both
fell asleep.
The next morning, Janine woke up, and saw that Heath was
awake but lying still. “G’morning
Love,” she said to him, smiling. “How
are ya feelin’?”
“I feel much better, Janey. What happened?”
“Ya don’t remember?”
He shook his head sadly. “Ya
came home from work and collapsed on the bed.
Ya had a high fever.” She
reached a hand to his forehead, “ much better.
I’ll get ya some broth.” Heath
made a face. “Howard said ya had to eat
broth since it looks like ya weren’t eating proper.” He looked startled at what
she said then downcast, realizing what could have happened.
“I’m sorry Janey.
I was just so worried about everyone. I didn’t want anyone worrying
about me.”
“Heath Morgan Thomson Barkley!” He gulped. He knew he was
in for it now. “You will listen to me and listen to me good!” He winced at the tone in her voice. “You are my husband. I love you.
You love me, correct?” He nodded
slowly, “You worry bout me, correct?”
Again he nodded. “Why can’t I
worry about you?” He looked at her incredulously, he never thought about
that. He was always telling her that he
was the one to worry, she didn’t need to. Now that he made himself sick, he saw
that he needed to share the worry with her. He was not being very fair to
her. “WELL?”
“I’m sorry Janey. I made a bad error in judgment.”
“You’re darn tootin’ ya did! Don’t do it again!”
He smiled and tried to kiss her, but she wouldn’t have
none of that. “I’m going to get Silas to bring you some broth. You are to stay in bed for the next couple
of days then to take a holiday from the ranch. Go fishing, have some fun.” He watched her as she rose off the bed and
went to the door. “I have to go check on the children, they probably wanna get
up and be fed.” With that she walked
out the door and smiled to herself.
That should teach him for being so stubborn, she thought, chuckling.
I’ll just give him a while by himself then I’ll talk to him again.
She checked on the children but Laura already had them up
and was making their beds while they played.
Leah was doing a good job keeping them entertained. Janine bid them good morning, and chuckled
as they clambered over her. She played
with them for a bit then said she had to go feed the babies. Laura told them it was time for breakfast, anyway,
and herded them downstairs.
Janine went back into the bedroom where Heath was slowly
feeding himself some broth. She picked
up Little Nicky and fed him. He was a
greedy eater, finishing his bottle quickly.
She burped him then changed his diaper before Rachel started
crying. She picked up Rachel, her face
red from crying, and gave her the bottle.
Heath finished his broth and laid back on his pillow,
watching as Janine fed Rachel. He
smiled in spite of himself. He was
feeling much better, but was still exhausted.
Thinking about what she said, he realized she had been right. He didn’t want to burden her with his fears,
knowing that she had enough dealing with her mother and the babies. He really hadn’t given much thought as to
what would happen to him if he kept all his fears and anxiety locked away
inside of him. Yes, he mused, I’d
better clear this up soon.
Janine finished with Rachel, changing her diaper and lying
her in the crib with her twin. She eyed
her husband warily, wondering why he was staring at her with that half smile of
his. She made her way to the bed and
sat beside him. He took her hand in his
and kissed her long fingers. “Don’t be
angry with me, my pretty,” he pleaded, his eyes searching hers.
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t be mad at you.”
She said while he kissed each finger and tasted the saltiness of them. She shuddered at the sensations he was
making. He pulled her closer, inhaling
the rose scent in her hair. Her heart was pounding as he ran his fingers
through her hair.
“Because I love ya, that’s why” He said just as his mouth
claimed hers in a burning kiss that left them both breathless.
She pulled away
and peered into his blue eyes, “Heath!
You’re supposed to be sick!” She told him. He bowed his head guiltily and she giggled. “Oh you’re so silly!”
“I am tired though, my pretty” He lay back down on the pillow and closed his eyes. The room started to spin and he felt the
broth wanting to come back up. “I think I will save that for tomorrow.” He told
her.
She nodded, “Ya rest and I’ll go see about breakfast. The others will want to know how ya are this
morning. I guess I should tell them that you’ll be okay.” He nodded and
swallowed. “Heath are ya okay?” He sat
up quick, and Janine found him a bucket.
He let go of the broth, feeling a lot better after having done so. She
wiped his brow and fluffed the pillow behind him. He smiled weakly at her and closed his eyes. “Rest, Honey. I’ll be back shortly.”
She kissed his cheek and squeezed his hand. He smiled and squeezed back as sleep took over.
She went downstairs for breakfast and saw that everyone
was just beginning to eat. “How’s
Heath?” asked Nick.
“He’s feeling better, he ate some broth, but it didn’t sit
well. He just fell back to sleep. So I
thought I’d come and get some breakfast.”
She saw her children were eating and keeping quiet.
Leah spoke up first.
“Mama?”
“Yeah Leah?”
“Is Papa all wight?”
“Papa is fine. He
is just really tired, right now.”
“He not sick like Gama Mawge?”
“No. Not like Grandma Marge. He will be fine in a couple
of days.”
“I see him?”
“In a little while, we need to let him rest.” She ate her food and looked around the
table. Everyone had finished eating and was listening to this exchange. Jarrod smiled at the mother and daughter
scene. He couldn’t wait until Cat was big enough to hold conversations. Nick thought about what his child would be
like at three. Victoria sat in silence
as she listened to the conversation. She watched in rapt attention then got up
to leave the table. Jarrod rose from
his chair and escorted her to the living room.
After breakfast, Janine helped clear the table and do the
dishes with Jenny and Chelsea. Then she
took some broth and juice on a tray and headed up the back stairs to their
room. Leah followed her, wanting to see
her father, to make sure he was all right.
She opened the door gingerly, seeing that Nick was sitting
with Heath playing a game of cards. She
smiled and set the food in front of Heath.
“I imagine you’re hungry?”
“Papa!” shouted Leah and scampered up the bed to hug her
father.
“Easy Leah” warned Janine but Heath scooped her up in a
big bear hug and nuzzled her neck, making her squeal. Nick and Janine smiled,
knowing that he felt better. “Heath!” admonished Janine when he got a little
bit too rambunctious with his daughter.
The babies started crying and Laura brought the boys in to see Heath as
well. The bedroom was busy. Nick picked up Freddy and hugged him. Then put him down and picked up David.
Freddy tugged on Nicks pants so he picked him back up and held both boys.
“Boy howdy Janine! You’re bossy today!” he teased her. Nick grinned and tickled the boys making them squeal. Heath ate his broth, a little more eagerly
then earlier causing him to comment, “I hate broth! Can’t I have something more
nourishing?”
Janine sat beside him holding Rachel, feeding her and
smiling, “Ya can have somethin’ more solid when ya can keep that broth down.”
She looked down at Rachel, finding that she was almost asleep, the bottle
slipping out of her mouth. She slowly rose off the bed and put her gingerly
into the crib. She picked up Little Nicky, and sat back down on the bed. Leah was watching her father, taking his
dishes when he was done eating.
“I’ll be back Papa.” She announced as she was leaving the
room.
“Okay Lil One.
I’ll be here!” he drawled. The
room started to spin and he closed his eyes.
Nick saw that Heath was ready to go back to sleep so he took the boys
with him while he said his good byes.
Janine gave the boys each a kiss on the top of the head telling him that
Laura was probably resting in her room.
“Thanks Neen but I think I’ll keep them with me for a
bit. I wanna get to know my nephews.
I’ll bring them back for naps in a while.”
He left the room with both the boys, making them laugh all the way down
the hall. It was a happy sound and it made Janine happy that they had such
devoted relatives.
Leah came back after a while but she shooed her out
because Heath was sleeping. “Go find
Grandma Marg and see if she wants to play dolls with you.” Leah cast an eye at her sleeping father and
sighed.
“I guess Mama.
Tell Papa, wove you.”
“I will Leah. I am
goin’ to have a nap too.” Leah went out
of the room, dejectedly, and headed towards the guest room. She knocked on the door and went in. Janine closed their door and crawled into
bed, falling asleep almost instantly. Between all the children, and caring for
Heath she was exhausted.
Heath woke up and noticed his wife sleeping. He couldn’t resist pushing a lock of hair
off her face. He leaned over and kissed
her. She moaned, but didn’t wake up so
Heath moved closer and caressed her face.
She opened an eye slowly and found a pair of sapphire eyes staring lovingly at her. She smiled a sleepy smile and embraced him. She placed a kiss on his adam’s apple and he
groaned in approval. His hands roamed her
back, pulling her closer. He threw his
leg over hers pulling her leg between his.
Her hands were caressing the back of his neck and twirling her fingers
through his blond hair. They found each
other’s lips and kissed each other with a long lost passion. When they came up for air, Janine asked
quietly, “How are ya feelin’?”
“Much better, thank ya.” he replied placing small gentle
kisses on her face. “You’re so beautiful Janey.” His voice was huskily
whispered into her ear. She shivered at
the tone, and kissed him slowly, nibbling at his bottom lip. He stroked her
side, following the contours of her body.
She turned and lay on her back, his hand moved to her stomach. He
searched her body and his hand slowly reached around, undoing the buttons on her dress. She sighed involuntarily when she undid the
buttons of his shirt and caressed the soft hair that covered his chest. Their clothes finally off, they lay on the
bed, admiring, caressing, and loving each other.
The babies started waking up and were crying, interrupting
any further thoughts of romance. They sighed, kissed each other a few more
minutes then reluctantly moved away from each other. She picked up her clothes and reluctantly dressed. She picked up
Little Nicky and changed his diaper.
She handed him to Heath then went to pick up Rachel who also needed a
change of clothes. She sighed involuntarily and thought about her husband
making her blush slightly. She couldn’t
believe that almost four years of marriage to this wonderful man and he still
made her heart beat a little faster whenever he touched or looked at her.
The babies fed and changed, they put them back into their
cribs. Janine kissed Heath, saying she was going to bring them some lunch. He nodded, “Solid food?”
She smiled, “Ya held down that broth, we’ll see about
something solid. I’ll surprise ya, how’s that?” Heath closed his eyes but nodded
slowly. She leaned over him and kissed
him slowly and playfully, “we’ll finish this later. Ya get some rest. I love
ya.”
He played back while whispering, “K, my pretty, I’m plum
tuckered. Ya wore me out.” She caressed his face, and rose from the
bed. “I’ll be back soon. Maybe ya can come down for supper if ya feel
up to it.” She heard shallow breathing
instead of an answer, she smiled and left the room, closing the door softly
behind her.
Leah helped Janine prepare lunch for their little family,
boys included to be eaten with their father.
She wanted to give Laura a break for a couple of hours because she had
been working extra hard taking care of the three children while they took care
of the babies. Janine felt guilty using
her childhood friend as a nanny, but when she tried to talk to her about it,
Laura just shrugged her shoulders and told her, “Don’t worry about it Mrs.
Jane. I is workin’ for youse. My mammy
did it for yore mammy and I is doin’ for youse chillins. I is so glad to see youse again. I is very happy. Youse and Mr. Heath need help and I is glad to help. Now, be off with youse. I’se busy.”
Janine put some milk, crackers, sandwiches and a tureen
of beef noodle soup on to a tray. On
another tray, she put napkins, bowls, glasses, and utensils they needed to eat
with. “Can ya carry this tray?” Janine
queried Leah indicating the tray with the dishes.
“Sure Mama.” She
carefully picked up the tray with both hands and very slowly made her way up the stairs. Janine picked up the
other tray and followed suit. When they
got to the closed door of the room, Janine balanced the tray on her waist
supported with her hand and opened the door.
Heath was just waking up from his nap and sat up. They set the trays onto the table, Leah went
to her father and kissed his cheek.
“I’ll be right back, just going to get the boys.” She left the room and came back after a bit
with the boys, sitting them at the table.
Janine poured the soup into the bowls and set them out in front of the
children and set the tureen on the dressing table. She took everything off the trays and set two bowls of soup on
the trays, some sandwiches and poured milk for everyone. She brought one tray and set it in front of
Heath. She checked the children, making
sure they were eating and sat on the bed with her tray. They ate in a leisurely style enjoying their
time together as a family.
After they ate Janine collected all the garbage and
dishes, setting them back on the trays to take them downstairs later. The
children scampered up on the bed to talk to their father, effectively shutting
out their mother. That was all
right though, the babies decided to
choose that moment to wake up. She poured milk into the bottles and sat at the
table, feeding Little Nicky who was living up to his namesake in loudness.
Laura knocked on the door, walking in and assessing the
scene. The children were on the bed
listening to their father telling a wild story of make believe. She went over to the cradle, picking up Rachel,
and found a bottle for her. They sat
side by side, the two women, talking of trivial things, quietly listening to
him tell his stories. Janine grinned
when Heath told a story about a cowboy and his horse. It was an actual story about himself, but he made it sound like it was about someone else. She finished feeding Little Nicky and
changed his diaper. Laura finished with
Rachel and they put both the babies in their cribs. Laura told the children it was time for their naps, but they
didn’t want to leave right away. Laura
used a tone in her voice, that made them listen. Janine and Heath smiled at each other, she was good!
After a while, Marge and Charles knocked on their door,
and walked in. Janine was happy to see
her mother feeling better. “Hi Mama! Hi
Papa!” greeted Janine.
“Well son, you’re looking much better.” Charles smiled at Heath.
“I reckon I do,”
teased Heath. “I feel much
better, been plum tuckered. I hate
lyin’ around but have to do what wife says.
She’s mean!” He cast an eye
towards Janine who was steeling herself for some teasing. The older couple chuckled as they watched
the interaction between the younger pair.
“Daughter, are you sure you’re not doing too much? You’re looking a little peaked.”
“No Mama. I’m
fine, I’ve been nappin’ when the babies sleep, tryin’ to catch up on some of
that missed sleep.” Marge smiled as she
sat on the bed, looking a little worse for wear.
“We just came to tell ya Heath, Janine. That we’re going to sell our place in New
York and come west.” Janine was
speechless. She didn’t know what to
say, they had talked about it, but never pictured her parents out here.
“And what do you plan to do once you come out here?” Janine put her hand to her mouth. That didn’t come out right, she thought. The question was out, and she looked at her
parents, expectedly.
Charles cleared his throat, noticing the tone in his
daughter’s voice, but ignoring it, “I am going to run a very small
spread.” He said proudly, puffing his
chest. Janine gawked at him incredulously.
“You run a ranch?”
Marge gasped. “Janine Marie! That was incredibly rude!”
“But Mama! Neither
one of you have ran a ranch before! Do
you know what you’re getting yourself into?”
Heath put a reassuring hand on her arm.
“Janey.” He said
it quietly but with meaning.
Janine stopped berating her parents and listened to them
as they outlined their plans to her.
She nodded, agreeing that it sounded reasonable. “But what if it doesn’t work out? What will ya do then?”
“Janine, I have the banking to fall back on. I always wanted to do this and your mother
has agreed. We aren’t getting any
younger, you know.”
“I know Papa. I’m
just scared that you’re taking on too much.”
“Thank you Sweetheart.
I’m glad you care that much. I
promise you and your mother this. If I
feel its too much, we’ll sell the land and get a house in town.” He smiled and grasped his wife’s hand as he
said this. He made this promise to her
in the privacy of their room. “Besides
we want to be close to you and the grandchildren.”
“I like that idea Papa.
Sorry about my attitude, you took me by surprise. And I’m real glad that you’re moving
here. I always thought you would be
stuck in New York.”
“I’m tired of the city, Janine. All the rush, rush, hurry up and wait pace gets to a person. I like it here, slow and easy.” Charles had a dreamy, far away look on his
face, with a slight smile. Marge,
watched her husband, knowing that this was what he truly wanted and that made
her happy. Now she could get to know
her daughter and her family a lot better.
They talked about the moving plans and other trivial
things before Marge tired. Charles
guided her out of the room after saying good bye to them and they would see
them at dinner. Just as they were
leaving, Jarrod brought Victoria in to visit a while. She was having a good day, so she checked him over and decided he
was feeling well enough that he could come down for supper. Heath smiled and spoke to Jarrod about what
was happening around the ranch.
Nick came in and visited with Heath as did Audra and Fred
with Douglas. They just needed to
reassure themselves that he was all right.
He gave them all a fright, being sick all of a sudden like he was. Everyone, including Janine, realized just
how much they were dependent on this blond haired cowboy. They expected him to be an invincible man,
ignoring everything to help his family out.
They talked about it that night as they waited for sleep
to overtake them. They promised each
other they wouldn’t take each other for granted and Heath promised to share his
fears with his wife. They fell asleep that night, knowing that everything would
be all right soon.
Two weeks later, Marge and Charles left for San Francisco
to see Dr. Krauss to see if there was anything else that needed to be done
before they left for New York. They
would be back in the spring to stay.
They had business to take care of, selling their house and saying
goodbye to their friends and relatives.
It was a bittersweet time for them.
Heath and Janine moved their family back home. Laura and Janine had been cleaning up the
house, airing it out so they could move back in. Heath brought back their livestock from the main ranch. It was so good to be home, they thought as
they watched Leah and the boys running around the tree. Laura was inside putting the babies down for
a nap and having a rest herself. Heath
went to the barn to check on the horses while Janine followed him.
“Heath?”
“How are ya feelin’?”
“Happy” He took
Titan out of the stall and started currying her. He looked at her quizzically, “Why do ya ask?”
“No reason,” she replied.
“I’m so glad to be home, Heath.”
She picked up the curry brushed and worked on the other side of Titan.
“Yeah it’s nice.
I’m worried about mother, though.”
“Me too, Heath. I
will go over as often as I can to visit her.”
Heath nodded. “You know if your
mother was herself, she wouldn’t like all this worrying about her.”
“I reckon, my pretty.
She took care of me when I was sick or hurt plenty of times, I reckon
its my turn.” He stopped brushing for a
few minutes while he thought about Victoria.
“She accepted me as I was when I first came, knew what I was, her
husband’s mistake yet she accepted me.
That’s a strong woman, Janey.” She
stopped brushing and went over to him.
She put her arms around his neck and drew his head down to hers.
“Heath, always remember that. Always remember the woman she was. The woman who loved you like one of her own. A strong woman who didn’t let rumors and bad
talk ruin your family name. She loves
you for who you are Heath, a kind, gentle man, who loves without a care for
himself.” She took his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. “I can’t promise you that she will be okay
Heath. But I can promise that I’ll
always be with you. When ever you feel
unhappy, lean on me. We’ll get through
this together.” Heath smiled at his
wife and her speech. She meant every
word, she loved him with all her heart.
That night, sitting on their beloved swing, they snuggled
together. They were very glad to be
home, their now large family snuggled under their roof. They kissed lightly, thinking of days to
come. They listened to the crickets and
heard an owl off in the distance. Janine sighed audibly, loving the feel of her
husband’s arm around her. Heath pulled
her onto his lap and kissed her passionately. “I love ya, my pretty.” He
whispered as he nibbled her ear.
She shuddered and hugged him close as she returned the
passion. “Let’s go to bed, Honey.”
Heath yawned and nodded. Janine
stood up and offered her hand to helped him up. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her close. They moaned together, savoring the closeness
of their bodies. They pulled apart,
going into the house, hand in hand, making sure the house was secure and went
to bed.
Once in bed, they wasted no time in getting to know one
another. They missed the closeness that
brought them together. They kissed
hungrily and reached for each other.
Hands caressing, reaching for each other’s buttons and undoing
them. Heath slowed down, wanting this
night to last and be remembered. Janine
followed suit and kissed him slowly, tenderly and enjoyed his administrations
to her. She groaned in pleasure. “Heath” she whispered in his ear, her hot
breath causing him to go over the edge.
“I love you”
“I love you too Janine.”
Their passions took hold of them and sent them soaring over the highest
mountains again and again. It was over
all too soon. They laid there after
savoring the feeling and kissing tenderly.
Heath laid beside her, caressing her body and lying his head on her
chest. When they got their breaths
back, they fell asleep embracing each other.
They woke up many times during the night, continued to love each other then
fell asleep.
The next morning they woke up and tended to their
kids. Laura took care of her charges,
and enjoying the freedom of her work but Janine wanted to feel apart of their
lives. So she often let Laura do
something else while she cared for them.
It was a happy but bittersweet time for them. Laura and Janine often did things together like the tedious
chores in addition to caring for the children.
She enjoyed the company when Heath was away on the ranch.
They went over to the main house once a week, on Sunday,
to visit and have dinner with them. They watched as Victoria deteriorated
before their eyes but decided not to call attention to it. Instead they
included her in their games and played along with her games. It was hard for them to watch the beloved
matriarch like this, but they had to accept it and move on. It was the way Victoria would want it.
They gave Laura
the day off so she could go to her church and be with her friends on that
day. Laura didn’t want to take the day
off , but they insisted. So she relented, and enjoyed it, but really missed the
children. She was so good with them,
disciplining them and loving them like they were her own.
One night as Heath and Janine sat on their swing, holding
each other, they thought about the days to come. They thought about their life together and what it held for them
in the future. It was not going to be
easy with Victoria being sick, but they knew with the love of the family they
could endure anything. The family ties
are strong and in the Barkley family, the bond was very strong. A bond that could not be broken.